Opposite Passions
by Finaille Nailo
Summary: What happens when an art loving water trainer and a hotshot trainer aspiring to be a writer is put in the same high school? Insanity! Chapter 10: Looks like Misty is finally starting to show a little interest in Ash! And the school dance is coming up!
1. Meeting Misty

**Opposite Passions**

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**Chapter 1: Meeting Misty **

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**By Finaille Nailo**

_I remember the day I met her like it was yesterday. It was a school day like no other, a new girl who had just arrived that day…_

"Oh GOD, that really sucks!" Ash mutters to himself, glancing at the computer screen over and over again. He had to write a short romance story for English, and everyone at Goldenrod Pokemon Academy knew if one person didn't understand romance, it was Ash Ketchum.

He glanced out the window, trying to find the words to continue. _If my friends knew I'm writing a story like this, I'd be so dead._ He thinks to himself. A member of one of the more popular groups at school, he couldn't deny it, he loved to write. The only people who understood his… _other_ passion were his past and current English teachers and his mother.

The words he typed flowed, like the melody and harmony of the song coming together perfectly.

_The girl, her name was Mara, she was very unique, and very passionate about her arts. But she too had a hidden passion; she loved Pokemon, especially fire-type Pokemon. The girl was in my homeroom, and I was asked to take her around school…_

"BRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!" He jumps, somewhat started from the bell. He quickly saved the story, logged out of his username, and gathered his things. At least I'll be early to lunch today… I'm starving…He walks out of the computer lab and into the crowded high school hall.

He hears his name. "Yo, Ash!" He turns around to see Brett and Gary about ten feet behind him. He stops and waits for them to catch up.

"Hey! How's it hanging?" He asks casually. They both nod in agreement.

"God, that test in Trigonometry was so hard!" Brett says, placing a frustrated hand on his forehead. "I think I failed it."

"Found out we're getting a new student tomorrow." Gary says. "Found out in Biology. A girl from Cerulean."

"Ahh, another poor sucker having to take some newbie around school for a week." Ash grins. "Hopefully she's not in my homeroom… I don't want to watch after some girl for another week."

"Yeah, remember Ana?" Brett says. "God, she was so weird! I swear it seems like all other people outside of this high school come from another planet! I mean she would not shut up about art and music and junk!"

"Yeah, I mean, this is a Pokemon Academy! Sure, we have other classes, but if you're not into Pokemon, you're totally screwed!" Ash says. They reach the cafeteria.

"But Ana had decent intentions, she just wasn't into Pokemon…" Gary mentions.

"Decent intentions??? For crying out loud, the girl was totally gothic!" Brett screeches.

"So? She was still… hot…" Gary grins. The other two rolls their eyes pathetically.

"Uh huh, we're totally kidding, it's just that watching after somebody for a week isn't all that fun." Ash says, while Brett nods. "And there is nothing wrong with the arts."

"Dude, how can you even be interested in that stuff? All those weird words and pictures and stuff." Gary says, purposely looking confused.

"Hey, I never said I was really all that interested…" Ash says. "Battling is a zillion times more fun!"

"Hey Ashy-boy…!" Another voice yells from the distance. He looks up, to see Samantha running towards him and hugging him around the neck.

"Um… hey Samantha…" Ash gulps. Sheesh, how many times do I have to tell her I'm not interested!!!

"How was your morning?" She asks sunnily.

"It was um, fine… hey Sam…?"

"Yeah?"

"I was sorta talking to my friends about something important." Ash mumbles. Samantha's smile fades partially.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt… I'll, um, see you after school then?" She asks.

"Yeah, sure, see you then, I guess." Ash doesn't watch Samantha sadly walk away. He turns back to Gary and Brett.

"Ok, ok, there is one thing worse than having to watch the new kid for a week." Brett says, pointing to Samantha. "It's being her crush." Ash and Gary snicker.

"Oh come on, she's not that bad…" Ash says.

"Uh-huh, and I'm the queen of England." Gary says. Ash rolls his eyes.

"Whatever you say… can we go to lunch now?" Ash says.

"Yeah, yeah, we're getting there… You won't die if you don't eat for five more minutes." Brett reminds Ash.

"Yeah, but it feels like it. Can we go now???" Ash demands. Gary and Brett both roll their eyes once more and the three guys head off to the cafeteria.

_School SUCKS!!!_ Ash flings open the front door to his house, and throws his backpack in the entryway.

"Is that you Ash?" A voice comes from the distance.

"No mom, it's a burglar coming to steal all of your money… Of course it's me!" Ash yells back. Delia pokes her head out from the kitchen.

"Ha ha, that's so funny. Will you come in the kitchen for a second? We need to talk…"

_Shit, she probably found out I failed my Geography test…_

"Yeah, sure mom. What's up?" Delia sits down at the kitchen table and tells Ash to sit down. " Is something wrong?"

"No, an old friend of mine just moved here to Goldenrod. You probably don't remember the family, but they were good friends of ours when we lived in Pallet Town. Remember the Yawa family?"

"Uh, no?"

"Didn't think you would, the last time you saw them you were five." She hands a picture to Ash. "Anyways, this is the family."

Ash looks at the picture: A mom with four children sitting around. All of the children were girls, three were obviously triplets and the elder of the family, and the youngest had fiery red hair.

"Ok?? And you want me to know this why?" Ash asks.

"Because the youngest there, her name is Misty. She's your age, and she'll be starting school at the Pokemon Academy tomorrow."

_She must be the new girl then…_

"Anyways, since you two used to be friends, I called the school and asked if you could follow her around for a week, and teach her the way around the school. "

Ash falls over. _Great…_

"Will you do this, please Ash, for me? Misty used to be your friend." Delia pleads.

"Well, I certainly don't remember her."

"You were five. Ash, if you don't do this, you can't go to this citywide Battle of the Bands concert, plus you're grounded for a month."

_Cornered…_

"Yeah, of course I'll do this!" Ash says, looking as happy as he could in the situation he was stuck in. Delia goes over to Ash and hugs him tightly. "GACK!"

"Oh thank you so much, Ash! Misty will meet you at the bus stop tomorrow at 7am."

"Ok mom… now can you please stop hugging me? I'm gonna suffocate…" Ash gasps. Delia smiles and lets go.

"Thank you, Ash. Now get started on your homework." Delia demands, while staying in a sweet mode.

"Yes mom…" Ash snorts when he leaves the kitchen. _Homework… right…_

_"Mara?" I ask, looking into the strange girl's eyes. Her hair is as bright as the sun, and red as fire._

_"Misty." She replies. I look into the night sky- the moon invisible, the stars bright. She comes closer to me…_

_"Why are you here?" I ask. The girl smiles…Misty smiles…_

_"Ash… I love you…"_

"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Ash yells, opening his eyes quickly. He sits up from his bed and glances at the clock.

_Shit, I still have two more hours till I normally get up. Why can't I sleep tonight? Why in the hell am I having such a weird dream?_ Ash sits up and walks to his desk. He turns on the lamplight. He pulls out a single sheet of loose-leaf paper and digs around for a pencil.

He looks at the empty sheet of paper, and looks up in thought. After a moment, he glances back at the paper. He writes something down.

_Dream Girl…_

He smiles._ Perfect_

Ash starts scribbling down on the paper. Not having an idea what he's writing about, he writes down whatever makes sense to him. He writes for hours…

… and wakes up with his face in the desk by his alarm clock going off.

"Aaarggh! I need more sleep!!!" Ash mumbles to himself. He gets ready for school, and is about to walk out of the house when his mom stops him.

"Hey Ash, heading off?" She asks.

"Yeap, that's what I do every weekday of the school year." He replies.

"Just don't forget to meet Misty at the bus stop." Delia reminds him. Ash froze.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me… almost… forgot." He mumbles.

"Well, good thing I stopped you. Have a nice day at school, dear."

"Yeah, you too mom!" Ash sighs and steps out the door.

Misty was my dream last night?? WEIRD!!!

Ash slowly walks to the bus stop, not knowing what to expect. When he is about ten feet away, he walks even more slowly to try and pick Misty out of the rest of the crowd. Unfortunately, he has no luck whatsoever. He finds Gary though, and walks up to him.

"Hey!" Ash says, slapping Gary on the back. "What's up?"

"Not too much, you?"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I get to watch the new girl this week…" Ash groans. Gary bursts out laughing.

"Have fun!"

"Yeah, I'm completely sure I will." Ash says, forcefully but sarcastically punching Gary in the arm. He turns around once more to see if he could find Misty. When he turns around, he gasps. Standing right in front of him was the same girl from his dream, give or take a few details.

"Uh, Misty?" Ash gulps. The girl looks up at him, and smiles.

"Are you Ash??"

Pikachu- FINAILLE! YOU DON'T SUCK!

Finaille- Uh- huh, yeah, sure I do!

Pikachu- NO YOU DON'T!

Eva- WILL YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING?!

Finaille and Pikachu- WHAT?!

Hehe… please review!


	2. You can battle without Pokemon?

**Opposite Passions**

**Chapter 2: You can battle without Pokemon?!**

**By Finaille Nailo**

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"Are you Ash?" Misty asks. Ash looks at the girl wearing a long blue shirt and light blue jean shorts. She runs her hand through her fiery red hair.

"Yes, I'm Ash Ketchum, famous Pokemon trainer who attends the equally famous Goldenrod Pokemon Academy." Ash says boldly.

"_You're_ a Pokemon trainer? What kind of loser school am I going to be attending?" Misty snaps her flip flops in annoyance.

"Yes, _I'm_ a Pokemon trainer. Why?"

"You seem pretty pathetic to be a trainer, let alone famous." Misty remarks with a smirk.

"Well, you seem to have quite a mouth on you."

"Thanks, big shot." Misty winks.

"Well, I bet I could beat you any day." Ash says smartly. "I mean, you're from Cerulean! They have the weakest gym ever! I mean, three stupid chicks trying to battle big guys- and they use water Pokemon!"

"Well excuse me, but those three stupid chicks are my sisters, and water Pokemon are the best ever! And you think you could beat me? Hah!"

"Well," Ash grins sarcastically, "you're just way too cute to be battling someone as good as I am. I wouldn't want to break your little heart!"

"Hey Ash, aren't you going to introduce me to the new girl?" Gary asks, poking Ash in the arm. Ash blinks.

"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot you were there." Ash says. He looks at Misty, who is scowling. "This big mouth here is Misty… uh?"

"Yawa." Misty says, interrupting. "Now excuse me… uh… what's your name?"

"Gary."

"Right, Gary, Ash was just trying to prove to me that he could beat me in a Pokemon battle."

"Well I can!" Ash argues.

"No you can't!"

"I could beat you any day, of any month, of any year! Especially if you use water Pokemon, then I could kick your butt even more!" Ash yells.

Gary watches the two with his head down and his hand on his forehead. _Could they flirt any more?_

"Fine, then how about a battle right now?" Misty asks, holding up a Poke ball.

"Nah, bus is coming." Ash peers at her. "Plus, you'd be crying all day cause of how bad I'd have beaten you. After school, in the gym, got it?"

"Fine."

"FINE!" They both turn away from each other. Gary is just completely dumbfounded. He goes over to Ash's side.

"Ash, don't forget you have to show this girl around school, remember?"

Ash blinks, walks over to a pole, and whacks his head against it. "School is really gonna suck now, isn't it?

Gary smiles. "I dunno, I think Misty is kinda cute." Ash punches Gary really hard in the arm.

"Gary, you are so weird." The bus pulls up as Ash says this, and he picks up his back and walks to the bus. Gary just stands there.

"What? What did I do?"

_Mara was not the girl I expected, she had a big mouth and she did not know when to shut up!! I thought it would be hell to have to watch her around school! She treated me like garbage, and constantly told me how bad of a trainer I was… so I challenged her to a battle. Little did I know she would win. Her fire type Pokemon were strong against my rock and ground type. I barely stood a chance._

"Class! I'd like you to log out of your computers so I can hand you tonight's homework." Says the English teacher. Ash doesn't hear a word she says.

_But even after she beat me she acted like a total BITCH! So, I decided to get back at Mara for the battle. I took her…_

"ASH! Excuse me, the entire class is waiting for you to log off!" Screamed the English teacher. Ash looks up to see 35 pairs of eyes staring him down. Ash blushes crimson.

"Sorry, Ms. Maron…" He mumbles. He saves his work and quickly logs off of the computer.

"Now class, we have another large assignment coming up. This one is worth 20% of your final grade for this quarter." Ms. Maron says. The entire class groans loudly.

"I will be having each of you make a 30-80 page book, but this time you have the entire quarter to make this. Since this is the beginning of the new quarter, you will have nearly nine weeks to complete this assignment." Ms. Maron starts handing out sheets to the kids. "You will also have to find someone else who is not in this English class to do illustrations. I normally would have you students do that, but it would just be more of a waste of time."

Ash sighs. _Like any of my friends can draw…_

"This assignment will be due a week before your last final, and your final is on May 20. So it will be due on May 13. Any questions?"

The class is silent.

"Good." The bell rings. "Tonight, write a summary of the book you'd like to write. It will be due first thing on Friday morning. Have a good day class!" The kids slowly get out of their desks and file out the door. Ash walks out of the room, to find Misty right there at the doorway.

"Woah! What are you doing here?" Ash asks, really shocked.

"What do you think? You took me to my last class, which is right next door. When I went to go get a drink of water, I saw you walk in here."

"Why were you here so early?" Ash asks. "You've already bugged me enough."

"Oh, have I?" Misty peers her eyes at him. "I could always call your mom and tell her you're not doing a very good job of showing me around."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh yeah? All you do is point me in the direction of where my class is. THAT DOESN'T HELP YOU JERK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Misty yells.

Everyone in the hallway stops when Misty yells, and stare at the two.

"Misty, shhh, people are staring!" Ash whispers. Misty scrunches up her nose.

"Oh, so you don't want people to stare, eh?" Just as Misty is about to open her mouth to scream as loud as possible, Ash covers her mouth with his hand.

"Fine, I'll be a better… uh… show-er around-er, ok?" Ash says.

"Good."

_Phew…_

"I'm sitting with you at lunch." Misty demands. Ash's eyes widen.

"No you're not!"

"Why not?"

"Because, you're… weird… I mean, you like water Pokemon!" Ash tells her.

"What the hell is wrong with water Pokemon?"

"They are weak!" Ash argues. "And you are NOT sitting with me at lunch. EVER! You've already embarrassed me enough by having my mom making me walk you around!"

Misty looks shocked. She looks at Ash angrily. "YOU JERK!" Misty slaps Ash hard across the face. The people staring at Ash and Misty start whispering to each other.

"Oooh, Ash is being bossed around by another girl!" One boy whispers to another.

"I always knew he was weak." Says the other boy back, laughing.

Misty laughs at Ash. "I love being a girl, because I _know_ you'd NEVER have the guts to hit a girl!"

"Well, think again bitch!" Ash pushes Misty really hard into the wall.

"FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!" Screams the crowd. Moments later, a hall patroller is pushing his way through the crowd surrounding Ash and Misty. He gets in between the two.

"STOP THIS, NOW!!!" The patroller says. "You two should know way better!"

"She started it!" Ash complains. "She slapped me!"

"So? You were fighting her, too. To the principal's office, both of you. NOW!" The patroller says. Ash looks at Misty, who has a large bruise on her cheek. Ash has a red mark on his cheek and his arms are bleeding.

"You're still weak!" Misty says quietly to Ash.

"Shut up!" Ash lunges at Misty, but the patroller grabs him by the collar.

"Guess I'll have to take you two down to the office myself…" He mutters.

"I can NOT believe you'd do this to poor Misty!" Delia screams at Ash once they've gotten home. "She's only a girl! I cannot believe you had the decency to hit her!"

"But mom, she slapped me!" Ash argues.

"Well, from what I've been hearing from her and what she's told her mother, you deserve it! You're grounded for a month, no ifs, ands, or buts! And that means no Battle of the Bands, or whatever that thing was called!"

"But…"

"I said no buts, mister! You're already suspended from school for three days! And plus you got poor Misty suspended too, and she's new! I cannot believe you sometimes, Ash…" Delia says, putting her hand on her hips. "Now get to your room, now!"

"Yes mom…" Ash mumbles. He picks up his backpack and heads to his room.

_Misty deserved every bruise she got this afternoon, she is such a bitch!_

When he gets to his room, his cell phone rings immediately. Ash walks to the desk and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Is this Ash?"

"Yes, it is."

"Ooh… hi Ash."

"Who is this?"

"It's Misty." Ash's jaw drops to floor. _I should hang up…_

"Ash, I wanted to apologize…" Ash gets the most stunned look ever on his face.

"But… why would you want to apologize to me? I acted like a jerk!" Ash tells her. "Hey, wait a sec, how did you get my cell phone number?"

Misty laughs. "Didn't realize that Gary was my neighbor… I asked him."

"You seem not… so big-mouthed anymore."

"It might have been pressure, you know, first day jitters." Misty says. "Listen, I know we don't have much in common, but I'm sorry I acted the way I did… I shouldn't have slapped you. I don't know what came over me."

Ash sighs. _This doesn't seem right…_

"Anyways, you still on for that battle? I know you still think water Pokemon are weak, and I want to prove you wrong."

"Promise you won't cry when you lose?" Ash says. Misty laughs.

"Don't get such a big head yet, Ashy-boy."

Ash blinks. _Ashy-boy??_

"But I'm grounded…" Ash says.

"So am I. But we're both suspended, and our parents both work tomorrow. How about we meet at the Goldenrod Gym at 10:00am, ok?" Misty suggests.

"Um… sure, that would be ok… Are you sure we should be doing this?" Ash asks.

"You chicken?"

Ash gets a determined look on his face. "Never. Guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, guess so. Bye!" He hears a click. He turns off the cell phone.

_That was REALLY weird…_

Don't be expecting a happy ending yet, this is going to be a LONG fanfiction… LOL! Expect the unexpected… thanks to all who reviewed!


	3. She befriended WHO?

**Opposite Passions**

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**Chapter 3: She befriended WHO?!**

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**By: Finaille Nailo**

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_WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD MISTY CALL ME?! _Ash plops on his bed and buries his face in his hands. _Could my life get ANY weirder?????_

Ash gets back up from his bed and walks to his desk. He sits down in the chair, and looks at the clutter piled on his desk. Then he notices the poem, the one he wrote the night before. He picks it up.

_Dream Girl_

_Who is this girl?_

_Haunting my dreams every night;_

_Her bright eyes_

_Hypnotizing me into bliss._

_Why is she there?_

_Telling me_

_How she feels_

_When I don't even know her?_

_When will I meet her?_

_I've never seen her before_

_Yet I feel as if_

_I've known her all my life._

_How will I know it's her?_

_I will know_

_Her fiery red hair_

_Is the one thing I'll notice,_

_Along with her bright_

_Turquoise eyes._

_I love this girl_

_And I only want to be with her_

_She is perfect_

_In every way,_

_My dream girl…_

"What is this?" He says to himself. He reads it, and when he finishes, he sets it back down on the desk. He rests his chin on his hand and sighs.

I don't remember writing this, but my name is on it… how strange… 

"I can't believe I did that…" Misty says as she hangs up the phone. She looks up to the girl sitting on her bed.

"Misty hon, you did a great job! At least now we might be able to get back at that jerk!" The girls say, smiling.

"Thanks Samantha… I'm so happy I at least befriended one person today…" Misty sighs. "And at least that person agrees with me that Ash is such a TOTAL jerk…"

"Don't we all…" Samantha grins. "But I gotta give you props for giving Ash what he needed today! I can't believe you actually fought him."

"Like my sisters say, I'm a tough little cookie… someone in the family needs to be."

"Well, good for you!" Samantha pats Misty on the back.

"So, you're gonna come with me to the gym tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I am."

Misty blinks. "Aren't you gonna get in trouble for playing hooky? I mean, we _are_ only freshman…"

"Yeah, so? I've skipped plenty of times… personally I don't like the Academy. Pokemon training isn't my thing, but the rents are totally into it. So it figures they make their only daughter follow in their footsteps."

"Sucks to be you."

Samantha laughs. "So? It'll be fun for the _both_ of us to kick Ash's but tomorrow."

"No kidding. Time to take that arrogant asshole DOWN!" Misty puts a fist in the air.

Samantha looks around Misty's room. Paintings and drawings covered a lot of the empty spaces. "Hey Misty, where'd you get all these paintings?"

Misty looks at the drawing of a Pikachu in battle, which was right above her bed. "Oh, I didn't get them from anywhere."

"You didn't?" Sam asks, puzzled.

"Yeah, I drew them!"

Samantha gapes. "No way, you didn't!"

"Wanna bet? Look at the signatures on each one, on the bottom right corners." Samantha goes up to a few of the pictures and sees Misty's signature on each one.

"Wow! That's amazing! Where did you learn to do that?"

Misty blushes a little. "I attended an art school in Cerulean. My mom moved me here because my sisters are going to make another gym in the Orange Islands and she wants me to become the gym leader for Cerulean."

"Well, this is one of the best academies in Johto." Samantha says, agreeing.

Misty looks at another painting, a portrait of her three sisters and their favorite Pokemon. "I guess, I really didn't want to become a gym leader though. But I do love Pokemon."

"What Pokemon type does Cerulean specialize in?"

"Water type."

"Oooh, I LOVE water Pokemon!" Samantha squeals.

Misty snorts. "Unlike some jerk we know…"

"Go figure." Samantha pauses and thinks for a moment. "Why don't you tell your mom that you don't want to be a gym leader?"

"Family tradition. Plus, my mother would go completely ANAL if she found out I didn't want to be a gym leader."

"Then why did she put you in art school?"

"My _mom_ didn't. My father did. I wasn't originally supposed to become the gym leader, because my dad was until he died when I was four."

"Oh Misty, I'm so sorry!"

"I really don't mind, I was too young to really remember him. But, since he died my mom had to take over the gym until my sisters turned 10. Then they took over. But they always wanted to make their own gym in the Orange Islands, and my mom is in no condition to take back the gym."

"When are you supposed to take over the gym?"

"What do you think? When I graduate."

"How old are your sisters?"

"Twenty-five; all fraternal triplets. There's a portrait of them right there, one I drew about three years ago."

Samantha takes a moment to study the pictures." They're pretty."

"That's what everybody says. I'm the Cerulean runt!" Mist gets a pouty look on her face.

"Oh hon, you are not a runt!" Sam says, hugging Misty.

"I really wish I could be an artist…" Misty says. "I love art. Music, painting, drawing, writing… it's all so fun!"

"Oooh, so you write too?" Samantha asks. Misty nods.

"Yeah, I write like all the time! Wanna see some of my stuff?"

"I'd love to!"

_I should really apologize to my mom…_ Ash thinks to himself, while lying on his bed, reading. He folds the page so he could come back to the book, and sets in on the bed. He gets up, and tiptoes downstairs. He stops when he gets to the kitchen entrance.

"Hey, mom?"

Delia looks up from her work. "Oh, hi Ash."

"May I sit down?" Ash asks quietly.

"Yeah, of course you may." Ash goes to the table and sits down across from Delia. He watches her work for a few moments before speaking.

"Hey mom, I just wanted to apologize. You're right, I was a complete idiot to get in a fight with Misty. In fact, she actually called me, and we apologized to each other. We both did something that resulted in the fight."

Delia raises an eyebrow. "_Misty_ did something that caused the fight?"

"Yeah, I sorta made fun of her."

"Ash, now why in the world would you do that?"

"I dunno, guess I was sorta being arrogant."

"Sounds that way. So are you and Misty friends now?"

"I don't know, I _think_ we are." Ash pauses. "We really didn't talk about that, though."

"I didn't hear the phone ring." Delia mentions. Ash blinks.

"Oh, she called on my cell phone. Apparently she's Gary's neighbor, so she got the number from him."

"She's his neighbor? But, she lives in the apartments about five blocks that way." Delia says, pointing to the left. "Doesn't Gary live two blocks that way?"

"I don't know where Misty lives…" Ash mumbles.

"Well, she might have gotten the number from someone else… do you have any friends who live in the Villa Square Apartments?"

Ash thinks for a moment, then his eyes widen. _HOLY CRAP! SAMANTHA LIVES THERE!!! Holy SHIT! Misty must have been plotting when she called me!_

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I think I should go over and apologize to Misty's mom. You know…"

"Well, you are grounded, but I suppose that would be the right thing to do." Delia says. "Sure, why not? But if you're not home by 8:00, I'll call the police."

Ash hugs his mom tightly. "Oh thank you so much mom! I promise I won't let you down!'

"Do you need a ride dear?"

"No, I'll just ride my bike. Thanks again mom!" He runs upstairs so he can get the directions to get to the apartments. _I'll just go to Sam's house, ask where she is, and tell her mom I was supposed to meet her and Misty and Misty's house, but I lost the number…_ He snatches the directions off of his bulletin board, and rushes to the garage to get his bike. He opens the garage door, and speeds off on his bike.

Misty is so dead! I knew that phone call must have been totally fake! She's probably plotting with Sam as I head over there…

"Hey Sam?" Misty asks, after they were laughing over something.

"What?"

"Thanks for being my friend. I could never trust that jerk Ash for a second."

"No problem! When do you think he'll realize you aren't Gary's neighbor?" Samantha asks.

Misty laughs. "Uh, NEVER! He's way too dense." They both laugh hysterically.

"He is just really stupid!" Samantha says. "But he _is_ a cutie…"

"Omigosh, do you like him?" Misty asks with widened eyes.

"Yeah, but he's always such a major jerk to me!"

"Is he a jerk to everyone?"

"Everyone except his good friends." All of a sudden, the doorbell rings. Misty and Samantha think nothing of it.

"His friends don't really seem like jerks." Misty says, pulling at a strand of hair.

"They aren't, really. Gary's ok." Samantha says.

"Misty!" A voice is heard from outside the room.

"What?" Misty yells back.

"A boy is here to see you! He's at the door!"

Misty scrunches up her eyebrows. "Ok… this is only the first day and a _boy_ is already coming to my house?"

"Well, go see who it is!" Misty gets up, and walks out of her room. She goes to the living room, where her mom is sitting.

"Hey mom, who is it?"

"Well, he _is _right behind you…" She turns around and gasps.

"ASH! What are you doing here????"

Lol, please review!


	4. The battle finally begins!

**Opposite Passions**

**Chapter 4a: Finally, an OFFICIAL battle...**

**By: Finaille Nailo**

**A/N- Hello everybody!!!! First I'd like to say sorry for such a long delay between chapters. I have just spent most of my July at various camps, but now I will be able to continue my great passion of writing. Unfortunately, my chapters might be longer delayed for the next few weeks, for I have an exchange student with me, and I know my parents won't let me on the internet. I apologize, and I hope you enjoy what I have written!**

****

"Ash, what are _you_ doing here?" Misty screeches.

"Misty, tell me right now what the..." Ash is caught off guard by Misty's mother, who is looking at him expectantly. He blinks, and refocuses his attention for the moment.

"So, you're Ash?"

"Uhh... yes, I'm Ash Ketchum. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Yawa." Ash murmured, as he shook her hand. "Do you mind if I speak to Misty... alone for a moment?"

Mrs. Yawa got an utterly confused look on her face. She nods, "Of course, Misty, why don't you take him into your room? I'd go to my room, but I'm cleaning right now."

"Mom, I'd rather..."

"Misty, he just wants to talk to you." Misty gets a really pissed off look on her face, but sighs and lets him in anyways.

"Come on Ash... Sam's also in my room..." Misty motions him to follow, and they both step into her room. Sam is totally wide-eyed and shocked the second she notices Ash. Ash sits down on a chair next to the desk, and Misty closes the door.

Misty glares at Ash. "Well, what do you want?"

There's a long moment of silence. "I want to know what the HELL that phone call was all about!" Ash demands. Misty blinks.

"What? I got the phone number from Gary!" Misty shudders from the lie, but hides it.

"You are so stupid for thinking I'm stupid enough to realize that Gary lives seven blocks that way!!!" Ash barks, pointing off in the distance. "My mom told me you lived here, and the second she told me, I knew you two were plotting something." More silence again.

Misty's fake surprise wears away on her face as she joins Sam on her bed. _Guess he's not quite as dense as I was told..._

"Just for your information, we weren't really... plotting anything." Sam says.

"Then what in the world are you doing???? And WHAT WAS THE PHONE CALL ABOUT????" Ash screams in frustration.

"The phone call was to set the battle. We weren't plotting." Misty says calmly.

"Then what's with Sam being here??? When did you meet her?" Ash questions.

"She's in most of my classes, Ash. Since seating in your school is always alphabetical, we just happened to always sit by each other. She started talking to me, and she was nice. When I found out she lived in Villa Square, I invited her over. Is there something WRONG with that???"

Ash blinks. "No, I guess not. Sorry... after all that had happened... I just assumed..."

"...that's it! You assumed!!!!! All we were going to do... is just have the both of us battle you..." Misty sighs. _I can trick him... but why must lying be my pet peeve???_

_The both of them??? Why?_ Ash thinks for a moment, and a smirk spreads across his face.

"What? Too scared to battle me on your own?"

"What? Of course not! I can do my own battling!" Misty defends.

"Fine!" He glares at Sam. "Don't you dare even think about coming to the gym tomorrow. This is my own ordeal."

The clock chimes, and Ash jumps. He pauses, and starts counting the chimes. When it reaches eight, he smacks himself in the forehead. _Didn't realize it was so close to eight when I left..._

"Anyways, I have to go. It's getting late, and I don't want to get in more trouble..." Ash gets off the chair, and leaves the room. Before he shuts the door, he looks back at Misty. "Just you and me." He says, and shuts the door. He goes out of the apartment; Sam and Misty watch him get on his bike and take off.

Sam looks at Misty. "Why did you tell him about our plan?"

"Sorry... I've already lied so much today... I hate lying." Misty confesses. Sam looks at Misty.

"I guess he's right. I really don't have anything to do with this, it is your battle." Sam smiles, "But I know you'll win. He might be strong, but you're a gym leader."

"Well, what Pokemon do you think I should use?" Misty asks.

"What do you have?" Sam asks...

_That was more than strange... and boy, is Misty really moody. She was a bitch earlier, and though it seemed like everything was going to end up that way, especially after the phone call... but when I got there... she seemed more sorry than anything._

Ash looks up at the evening sky, darkening from blue to pinks and darker blue.

_Life is really weird... I'm wondering if she's doing it so I'll go easy on her tomorrow._ Ash laughs. _Well, now I know to battle the hardest I can. I'm still not calling her my friend... yet... and I don't care if she is a girl or not!_

o0o0o0o0o

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!!!

"Aaahhh...." Ash rolls over on his bed, and groggily puts a hand on the alarm clock. He slowly sits up, and looks at the time. _Nine-fifteen... NINE-FIFTEEN! I THOUGHT I SET MY ALARM FOR EIGHT-FIFTEEN!!!!_

Ash runs out of bed and pulls on clothes as quickly as possible. _Man... the gym is a half hour bike ride... and I only have about that long. _He grabs his hat lastly, and runs to his dresser, where five Pokeballs are sitting. He grabs three: Pikachu, Groyvle, and Totodile. He goes downstairs, and makes sure that is mom is definitely gone. Luckily, a note's on the kitchen table, and he grins and he reads it.

Dear Ash,

Morning sweetie! I'm going to be at work late today, and I need you to run to the grocery store and pick up a few things. The list is on the refrigerator. Can't call me, I'm in meetings until two. I'll see you tonight!

Love, Mom

He grins. _Perfect excuse to get me outta the house! YES!_ He grabs the list off the fridge, and goes to the garage. He opens the door, hops on his bike, closes the door, and rides to the gym.

o0o0o0o0o

"NOOO!!!" Misty screams, as she just totally realizes she has no idea where the Goldenrod Gym is. She is digging around books in the living room. _Come on... there has gotta be a map around here somewhere...! Where though!!!_ She glances at her watch. _And at this rate, I'm going to be late!! GAHHH!!! _After digging in a box of old books, she comes across a fairly recent map of Goldenrod. She looks at the map, and freaks out more.

_I have to be there in fifteen minutes! It's so far away! Oh well, maybe I can finally get some exercise... _She grins at the joke, and gets up off of the ground. She grabs her knapsack and runs out the door.

o0o0o0o0o

_Sheesh... I'm actually not late for once..._ Ash thinks to himself as he walks into the gym right when they were planning to meet. The second he walks through the main door a familiar face pops out.

"Hi Ash!" Whitney says cheerfully. "What are you doing here? Don't you have school?"

Ash shakes his head. "It was... called off. I'm actually meeting a friend here to have a battle. Do you know if a Misty Yawa has come in yet?"

"No, you're the first person who's been here for the last three days. It seems like everybody's off battling gyms in different cities..."

"Wow, I remember when I first came here for a badge. I remember a lot of people were waiting to battle you."

"Yeah, those were the good old days. But I haven't won a match in who knows how long. I'm wondering if I should give up the gym leader position to my little brother..." Whitney sighs sadly. "I'm just not that good anymore."

They sat down where they were standing and talked about how each other's lives have gone. In about 20 minutes Misty finally arrives. Ash stands up, and gives Misty an evil look.

"Hey, what took you so long? Usually I'm the one who is late..." Ash grins. Misty rolls her eyes.

"Hey, what do you expect? I've only lived here for like, two days and it took me forever just to find a stupid map of the place." She pouts. Her eyes focus around and stop on Whitney. "Is that your girlfriend?" She adds.

Whitney blushes, but Ash shakes his head. "No, this is the gym leader, Whitney. She specializes in Normal-Type Pokemon." Whitney walks over to Misty to shake her hand.

"Hi, I'm Misty Yawa! I'm the... or was the old gym leader of Cerulean City." Misty says in a sing-song voice. Ash gives a loud hmph!

"Really? Oh I love that gym! It's soooo beautiful inside! I love your sister's water shows!" Whitney exclaims.

"Uh, Misty? I think we have a battle to fight." Ash says, interrupting the girl's conversation. "Is Sam here?"

Misty glares at him. "No, she's at school. And if you want to make sure, call the friggin school and ask to talk to her!"

"Sheesh... I was just wondering..." Ash leads Misty to the main gym area. Ash walks over to the other side of the gym, and takes out a Pokeball. He looks up.

"Ok, how about this, I only use one type of Pokemon. You name it." Ash says, still very confident.

"I don't want you having a weakness, so how about we say either Normal, Flying, or Poison." Misty says.

"How about Flying? One on one?"

"Great with me. Let's get this thing started." Misty says, pulling out a Pokeball out of her backpack.

"Pokeball, GO!"

Sheesh... I think that sounds soooo loserish... lol! Anyways, hope you like! Thanks for all the good reviews! Sorry it was kinda short, but this is kinda a two part chapter...


	5. The tie to beat all ties!

**Opposite Passions**

**Part 4b: The tie to beat all ties!!!**

**By Finaille Nailo**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, and I don't not own most of the characters!!! XD I do own a few though!!!!

0o0o0o0o0

"Swellow! Go!" Ash yells, and releases his Swellow. The Swellow flies around the gym happily, and lands on the battlefield.

Misty grins. "Oh, a Swellow eh?" She holds up a Pokeball. "Well, I choose... Corsola!!!" Her Corsola comes out of the Pokeball, and jumps around happily.

Ash scowls. "I thought you said no weaknesses!!! Corsola's a water and a rock Pokemon!"

Misty shook her finger. "I was intending on using Corsola all along. You should have thought what water Pokemon had other types, too. You probably would have been better off using a Normal type."

Ash shakes his head at her comment. "I battle with weaknesses all the time. Why do you think I'm one of the best trainers in the world? Swellow, Aerial Ace!"

"Corsola! Bubble beam!" Ash's Swellow flies to the top of the room, and at top speeds races down towards Corsola. Corsola braces herself and shoots off a Bubblebeam towards Swellow. Swellow slows down a little, but is still able to hit Corsola. Corsola falls back, but quickly gets up, and still has a lot of energy.

"Cor cor!" Corsola cheers happily!

"Corsola! Use Rock Blast!"

"Swellow, Agility!" Corsola jumps up and lands with a thud. Rocks fly up and aim towards Swellow. Swellow speeds up and misses most of the rocks, but at the last second, one flies up and hits him from behind. Swellow is knocked towards the ground, but saves itself and flies back up in the air.

"Pretty good for a water Pokemon... but not good enough! Swellow, Steel Wing attack!" Ash shouts.

"Oh no you don't... Corsola! Mirror Coat!" Swellow's wings start glowing as he flies around at a normal space. He gains speed and dives down to attack Corsola. Corsola looks helpless, but at the last second a rubbery coat surrounds Corsola. But Misty forgets that Mirror Coat is only used to protect special attacks, so Corsola is hit full on by the Steel Wing attack. This hurts Corsola fairly badly, but she is still able to get up.

"Hah! See, I told you Water Pokemon are weak!" Ash teases.

Misty gets an annoyed tone in her voice. "You haven't seen my Corsola's power yet! Corsola, Ancientpower Attack!"

"Swellow, use Double Team!" Corsola starts to glow as rocks start coming from the ground into the sky. The rocks glow and start to shake, but as this is happening Swellow is starting to make fake multiples of itself. The rocks then move at incredibly fast speeds, one at each of the Swellow. Luckily, a particularly large rock hits the real Swellow, and it is knocked to the ground. There is a loud thud as Swellow hits the ground, but moments pass and Ash's Swellow gets up, a little bruised, but fine.

"See? Told ya!" Misty says cutely, just to bug him.

"Err... Swellow! Hyper Beam!"

"Corsola! Psychic attack!" Each Pokemon emits a large beam from themselves. They collide halfway to the other Pokemon, and the power from the two attacks starts growing. It grows until it nearly fills the entire room; Ash and Misty are in awe.

"BOOM!" An incredible ear-piercing noise fills the room as the attacks explode. Ash and Misty have to squint because of the bright lights. When things finally fade away, they see Swellow and Corsola, both fainted exactly where they had omitted their last attack. Misty runs to her Corsola as Ash runs to his Swellow.

"Corsola! Are you all right?" Misty asks, bringing out Corsola's Poke ball. "Return!"

"Swellow, you did great out there! Return!" Once both of their Pokemon were back in their Pokeballs, Ash walks up to Misty.

"Well... I guess we tied." Ash mumbles.

"Yeah, I guess we did..." Misty looks up at him. He still looked determined, but she knew he was disappointed. She takes his hand.

"Uh, Misty? What are you doing...?" He blushes a little, and so does Misty.

"I'm shaking your hand... or at least trying to."

"Oh..." Ash's grip on Misty's hand tightens, and they shake hands.

Once they leave the gym, they both start talking.

"So Ash, what are you doing today?" Misty asks. Ash is a little surprised by her question. "I have to get groceries, and then I'm going home. I'm grounded, remember?"

Misty nods. "I was just wondering... if I could come over...?"

Ash blinks. _The girl who gave me so much crap yesterday wants to come over?_ "Yeah, sure, why not? Do you have a bike?"

"No, I took the bus."

"Well, I guess we're gonna both have to ride mine then... Stay right there, I'll be right back." Ash runs over to the side of the gym and gets his bike. _I don't know why the hell I'm actually letting her come over... what the heck is wrong with me?_ He rides his bike back to Misty.

Misty walks over to the bike. "What do I do?"

"You've never ridden on the back of somebody's bike before?"

"No."

Ash grins. "You've been missing out..."

"Oh shut up! Now what do I do?"

"See those bars on the back wheels? Stand on those, and use my shoulders so you don't fall off." Misty does exactly what he tells her, and they start off.

Misty smiles. "This isn't that hard."

"Well, it's not hard anyways. You might wanna hang on tight though now, we're going up a hill and I don't want you falling off." The bike starts moving uphill, and Misty nearly falls off, but wraps her arm around Ash's neck. Ash blushes, _At least she can't see me... she'd probably freak out..._ In a few moments, the bike returns to flatter ground, but Misty's grip doesn't change.

"Uh, Misty? You can lighten your grip now..." Ash says nervously. She obeys, and rests her hands on his shoulders.

_I hope he didn't think anything... I mean, I didn't mean anything... I just forgot!!! To let go, that is..._ Misty thinks to herself.

An hour later, Misty and Ash return to Ash's house after visiting the grocery store. Misty gets off the bike, and waits on the driveway for Ash to open the garage door. He parks his bike, and he leads her inside. Once inside, Misty looks around curiously.

"Nice house." She mutters.

"Thanks. Uh, want something to drink?" Ash asks politely.

"Um, only if you're getting something." Ash reaches into the fridge and pulls out two colas. He hands one to Misty. "Uh, why don't we go to my room? We could just... talk or something."

They go up the stairs and go in his room. Misty was a little surprised since it was so clean. She sits down on his computer desk chair, and he sits down on his bed. They look at each other for a few moments, trying to clear away the awkwardness of the moment.

"Misty?" Ash asks, finally.

"Yes?"

"You're a good trainer... I'm sorry I was kinda being a jackass." Ash mumbles. Misty shakes her head.

"It's fine. But you gotta admit, water Pokemon aren't as bad as you think they are, huh?" Misty smiles sweetly at him.

"Yeah, they're just fine. I have a few myself." Ash tells her.

"Really? What ones?"

"I used to have a Squirtle, but at this time I have a Totodile and a Kingler. Do you have anything that's not a water Pokemon?"

"Yeah, I have a Togepi at home. She's only a baby, just hatched recently." Things go quiet again. Ash looks around the room, and Misty twirls her hair.

"So... then?"

Misty just looks at him curiously. "So, what do you like to do?" Misty asks, attempting to make conversation.

"I like to battle." Ash quickly says.

"Is that all you like to do?"

"Uh... no..."

Misty taps her foot. "Then what ELSE do you like to do?"

"I uh..."

"Is it really that bad?" Misty observed.

"No, just, the other things I really like doing no one knows about." Ash frowns.

"You can tell me." Misty pleads. "I won't tell."

Ash hesitates for a moment then gets up off of his bed. He goes over to his bookshelf, digs around for a moment, and pulls out a fairly ratty notebook. He hands it to Misty. "This is what I like to do."

Misty takes the notebook and starts reading what was in it. Her mouth drops as she reads stories about origins of Pokemon, poems about romances, battles, and much more. After reading one of his stories and a few poems, she hands the notebook back.

"You wrote _those_?" Misty exclaimed, her mouth agape.

Ash blushes. "Yeah, I did."

"I would have never guessed you like to write!" Misty smiled. "I like to write, but all of my stories are terrible. I'm much better with drawing and painting. I've won many awards."

Ash recalled Misty's room, and remembers all of the beautiful paintings that hung all over. "You made those paintings? Those ones in your room?"

"Yeah, I did. I used to go to an art school, but when my dad died, my mom knew I was going to eventually come here. I needed to become a better trainer so I could take over the Cerulean Gym. She never listens when I tell her that's not what I want to do, no matter how much I love water Pokemon."

"You should follow your own heart." Ash mumbles. Misty gets off the chair she was sitting on, and moves onto Ash's bed.

"It's not that easy. My mom always gets her way."

"That sucks." Ash comments.

"Yeah, it does. I wish I could do something."

"Maybe you can... I could help! If you could do me one huge favor."

_I'm not liking the sound of this..._ Misty blinks. "And that would be?"

"Could you illustrate my book?" Ash asks.

Misty's mouth falls open. "You're gonna publish a book?!"

"Well, I wasn't thinking about going quite that far. But I'm writing a book for English- it's an assignment. I can't draw worth crap and our teacher wants someone else to illustrate anyways. Could you, please?"

"Well, only if you can help me convince my mom that I don't want to be a gym leader... but I have no clue about how we can do that."

"Well..." Ash grins evilly. "I do have one idea..."

**A/N- Thanks everybody who has reviewed! Just to let you know, THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG STORY! It's going to be a while until an AAMRN even establishes. They are only freshman in high school, and I may not have them fall in love... well, they might fall in love, but I won't have them being together for quite a while. Sorry all! Just keep reading!!! I mean, who wants a story that's a romance right away? XD Just kidding... Peace out!**


	6. Friendships and Dreams

**Opposite Passions**

**Part 5: Friendships and Dreams**

**By Finaille Nailo**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Pokemon and majority of the characters in this fanfiction!!!**

0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty is lying on her bed, her face to the ceiling. _Ash isn't as bad as he seemed a few days ago. I mean, I never thought I'd ever get along with him when I first met him._

A second voice popped in her head. _Hey, _you_ were arrogant too!_

_After today, I really think my feelings for him have changed. Maybe I do want to be friends with him... I can't believe he actually offered to help me convince my mom that I want to be an artist..._

Misty jumps as the phone starts to ring. She climbs off of her bed, goes over to the phone, and picks it up.

"Hello, Yawa residence, this is Misty."

"Hey Misty, it's Sam!" She announces. "Hey, you doing anything right now?"

Misty thinks for a moment. "No, why?"

"Wanna come over? I want to hear all about the battle! Plus, you need to get your assignments for school." Sam sang.

Misty grins. "Yeah, sure, no one's home anyways. Uh, what's your apartment number again?" Misty questioned.

"It's four-nineteen." Sam answers.

"Ok, I'll be over in a sec! Bye!" She hangs up the phone, runs out of her apartment and power walks to Sam's apartment. She rings the doorbell; Sam answers almost instantly and invites her in. They go to Sam's room.

"So, who won the battle?" Sam blurted out.

Misty grins. "Well... you'd never believe it..."

"Did he win?" Sam gasps.

"No, but neither did I." Misty admitted.

"How do you tie?" Sam asks curiously. "As much as I love Pokemon, I pretty much work with breeding traits, not battling."

"Well, he was using a Swellow, and I was using my Corsola. He used a Hyper Beam attack and I used a Pyschic attack. The attacks pretty much made a huge explosion and both Pokemon fainted near the same time. If one of the Pokemon still had been standing and able to attack after the explosion, their owner would have won. But maybe it was a good thing we tied..."

Sam blinks. "What do you mean a _good _thing? I thought you hated him."

"Well, I thought I did too. But, he wasn't a sore loser because we tied, and he invited me over to his house after the battle. He... well..."

"Omigosh, he didn't try and make a move on you, did he?" Sam screeches.

"NO! He didn't, but, it turns out we have a few things in common. And... I'm going to help him illustrate his book for English." Misty corrected.

"Why?"

"Well, I told you that my mom wants me to be the gym leader for Cerulean, right?" Sam nods. "Well, I told Ash everything I've told you. And he's going to help me convince my mother that I'd rather be an artist than a gym leader."

Sam sarcastically sulks- somewhat. "He's NEVER done anything like that for me... I mean, I like him." She thinks about what she said for a moment. "What, did he say anything about me?"

Misty recalls the meeting with Ash. "No, I'm pretty sure he didn't."

"I'm really surprised, he must like you a lot if he's gonna help you out." Sam states.

"Like, like as a _friend_?" Misty wonders.

"Um, I think a little more... you see, Ash had a fairly longtime girlfriend a while ago. They broke up last summer. Everyone knows the only girls he ever helps are the ones he has some romantic interest in."

Misty raises an eyebrow. "Um, but he's only a freshman. And he's dating?"

"Doesn't everyone start dating in middle school?" Sam questions.

"Uhh... not in Cerulean. Sure, we have crushes, but most of the parents of the kids from my art school were really strict. The only dates we went on our parents went along with us. Usually we could start dating without our parents at the age of 16." Misty says.

"Ouch!" Sam shrieks.

"Most kids were to embarrassed to date until they actually turned sixteen..." Misty murmurs, somewhat embarrassed.

"But, as much as _I_ hate to say it, I think Ash likes you." Sam grins.

Misty bursts out laughing. "That's really funny Sam... but he does _not_ like me, I know it because no boy ever has."

"No boy has ever liked you?" Sam asks, somewhat surprised by the comment.

"Well, either no, or he totally kept it a secret and I was totally oblivious to it. But I've only been here for like, two days! Since I was suspended today, tomorrow will only be my second day at school- and it's a Friday! I bet it's gonna be about a year until a guy actually starts to like me." Misty concludes.

"Oh come on, you're cute, why wouldn't guys like me?"

"Because the guys who like me just because I'm "cute" are TOTAL jerks!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_I can't believe today was actually fun... and I spent it with Misty..._ Ash sighs as he stares at a blank notebook page. _And now I have a huge urge to write... but nothing is coming to mind. I hate it when this happens._

He starts scribbling notes about the day on the paper. After filling about two pages worth of notes, he rips out the paper and sets it on his side. He starts writing on another notebook paper. _Wow... I really want to write about today... but when I try and think about what to say, everything is so jumbled._

Ash scratches his head, then remembers something. _Wait... didn't I just recently write a poem? _He goes over to his desk, and looks for the sheet of paper.

_This is it..._ Ash picks up the paper titled "Dream Girl." _This is the poem... that strangely enough I don't remember writing. I must have written it when I was half asleep._ The paper in hand, he lies down on his bed and reads the poem again. His eyes widen when he reads the part about the fiery red hair and the bright turquoise eyes.

_Am I talking about Misty???_

Ash thinks for a moment. _Maybe I have an idea on how Misty can convince her mom to let her be an artist..._ He runs downstairs and finds his mom in the living room.

"Hey mom, can I go out?" He bursts out. Delia looks at him.

"Ash, you're grounded, remember?" Delia reminds him. Ash rolls his eyes.

"Yeah I know... but I left something really important at Misty's house. I need to run over there quick and pick it up."

"What did you leave there?"

_Good question..._ "Uh, I left my cell phone."

"...Ash, be more careful with your stuff next time. You can go over and get it, ok?" Delia sighs. Ash squeezes his mom tightly and quickly runs out the garage door. He hops on his bike, and rides as fast as he can out of his street.

"FREEDOM!" He yells of the top of his lungs.

A little boy and his mom are confused as they watch Ash speed away.

"Mommy, what's wrong with that boy? He's so weird..." The little boy asks curiously.

"Oh nothing sweetie, come on, let's get the mail..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, are you liking Goldenrod so far?" Sam ponders.

Misty nods. "It's quite a bit larger than Cerulean. I had a little trouble getting to the gym this morning."

"I've never been to Kanto before. Is it nice?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, it's really nice." Misty answers. "What other regions have you been to?"

"Just Johto. We don't really have the money to travel outside of the region; all the money my parents make goes to paying for the Pokemon Academy." Sam mentions. "Where have you gone?"

Misty sighs. "Too many places... but this is actually my first time in Johto. I've been to Hoenn, the Orange Islands..."

"You've been to Hoenn?" Sam screeched.

"Yeah, I go there every year. We always go to Lilycove and take a cruise ship east of there. We love to go scuba diving. After that we'll spend a few days in Mossdeep, and my sisters will do shows by the beach." Misty brags, grinning as she tells Sam this.

"Wow, you are SO lucky." Sam marvels.

"Hey, sometimes my parents let us bring friends on our trips! Maybe on our next one you can come along..."

"SAM!" They are interrupted by Sam's mom.

"What?" Sam shouts back.

"Misty needs to go home; her mom called and someone is there for Misty." Sam's mom says. Misty looks at Sam.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow then, right?" Misty asks.

"Yeap!" She walks Misty to the door. "See ya tomorrow!" They wave goodbye to each other and Misty walks back towards her apartment. When she gets there, she opens the door, and is surprised to see Ash and her mom talking in the living room.

"... I'm really sorry about everything, Mrs. Yawa... if you need anything I can help out with..." Misty hears from Ash. He looks over at her and grins. "Hey Misty!"

"Ash... what are you doing here?" Misty asks. He looks at her mom and tries to explain without saying anything. Misty is confused for a moment, but quickly understands. "Oh, right, that project we have to work on..."

"What project, weren't you two out of school today?" Mrs. Yawa asks.

Misty freezes, but Ash fills in. "Yeah, our friend Sam called us and told us we were paired up for a project in uh... History and we were to be working together since we were the only two missing from class today. She gave me notes." He motions to his backpack.

"Oh, ok then." Mrs. Yawa says, and Ash and Misty go into Misty's room.

"Nice save." Misty mutters.

Ash smiles. "Hey, you get used to doing that kinda stuff often here... or at least I do."

"Ok... so what's your plan then? You came up with something awfully quick." Misty mentions. Ash goes into his backpack and pulls out a pamphlet.

"Well, if you got a full scholarship to an art school, would your mom let you be the artist you want to be then?"

"What do you mean by a full scholarship?" Misty asks.

"At our school one person wins a full scholarship to a really strict art school in Azalea Town. It pays for all four years. But it's really tough to get, considering there are over 1000 people in each grade. But your artwork is good enough, and you still have four years to work for it and get better." Ash explains.

"How did you get the pamphlet then?" Misty questions.

"I write, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"So, you have to work your butt off to get this scholarship. I know if you got it your mom absolutely CAN'T refuse. But this is our secret. No one else can know about it, ok?"

"Deal. How about this- since this is just a plan, you keep a hold of all my artwork. You seem to have a better eye for what's good then most people I know. When the day finally comes, you'll pick the ones the scholarship people will see, ok? And I'll illustrate your book because you're helping me. So far everything sounds good to me- I get to do what I like." Misty grins.

"Great! Well, I have to run." Ash pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. "I told my mom I left this at your house."

"Nice, well, see ya at the bus stop tomorrow!"

"Yeah, bye!"

**A/N- Hope you liked! I'm working on making the chapters a little longer. Anyways... study hall is almost over and Sociology is next, so I gotta run! Bai!**


	7. The Book's About?

**Opposite Passions**

**Chapter 6: The Book's About...**

**By Finaille Nailo**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. That's it... end of story! Come on people, moving along... XD!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty is sitting on her bed, going through her planner. _Yuck, could I get enough homework tonight?_ Her eyes focus on the date, April 16, and she smiles. _I can't believe I've been in Goldenrod for a month now..._

She flips through the planner until she finds the date when she first came to Goldenrod. _I wonder why I hated it so much then..._

She can't help but remember her first few days at the Academy. She frowned as she remembered her fight with Ash, and smiled when she came across the day they became friends. She now had a solid group of friends- actually; they were mainly her sister's fans. But it turned out they all had quite a bit in common and hung out often. Sam was also in the group, and Misty and Sam and become the best of friends.

Misty jumps as the tune to her favorite song comes on out of nowhere. She grabs the cell phone at the end of her bed.

She hits the talk button. "Hello?"

"Hey Mist, it's Ash."

"I thought you'd never call..." Misty says sarcastically.

On the other side of the phone, Ash grins. "Well, it's hard to call when a zillion girls are chasing after you like there's no tomorrow." Ash brags.

"Yeah, we'll, I hope a zillion _girls_ never chase after me. Guys would be ok though." Misty giggles.

"So, anyways, I was calling about the illustrations. I think I've gotten far enough in the book to get started on them." Ash tells her.

"Well, I said I would. When can I see the book?" Misty asks.

Ash blinks in silence. "... Uh, do you mind if I just tell you what to draw?" _She CANNOT see this book yet... I mean, she's going to freak when she finds out what the book is about in the first place._ He flips open the notebook with his work in it.

_I can't believe I started writing this only the day before Misty came into my life. It has everything to do with Misty... I don't wanting her think I'm totally into her when I'm not. She just... inspired me. How am I supposed to tell her???_

Misty's tone changes. "Awww, why not? I've read you're work before, it's quite good." She smiles.

"Misty, I can't let you see it yet. I need you to draw what I tell you, ok?" Ash implies.

"Why don't you stop by? That way you can help me fix anything you don't like. And you should bring the book, too..."

"MISTY! I've already said it! You can't see the book, ok? I'll just tell you what to draw." Ash scratches the back of his head in frustration.

"Umm... ok..." Misty mumbles. _That was really, really weird... could he be hiding something? _"... So you'll be over in a little bit? That way if I draw the illustrations wrong, you can tell me what to fix."

Ash sighs. "That I can do. I'll be over in a bit then, so, see you!" He hangs up the phone after Misty says good-bye. He quickly rereads his story. _Maybe I'll let you see it someday..._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"M'kay, fiery red hair... how long?" Misty asks, starting to draw "Mara" from Ash's story.

He sneaks a glance at Misty. "Uh, shoulder length." He watches her as she creates Mara on the paper. "Uhh, that's a little short. Maybe a bit longer." Ash corrects.

Misty fixes the error. It takes her about two hours to finish Mara, and she smiles after it's completed. "That's beautiful..." Misty murmurs. "You're really quite a visual." She compliments Ash.

"Thanks. Listen, why don't you make a few more of her in different poses?" Ash suggests. Misty blinks.

"I need to know the plot of the story first. I still don't know why in the heck you won't let me see the story." Misty raises an eyebrow. "Or have you even started the book yet?" Misty laughs sarcastically. "You're _such_ a slacker Ash..."

Ash shakes his head furiously. "No, the book was done a month ago. I'm just fixing some errors now..."

Misty gives him a deadly serious look. "Then why won't you let me see it?"

Ash freezes. "Because..."

"Because... why?" Misty pesters.

"Because I just can't! You'll see it eventually, just not now, ok? Just please, stop asking me!" Ash pleads.

Misty bites her lip. "Then what kind of poses should I draw then?" She demanded angrily.

"Uh, why don't I get back to you on that... just, you draw a whole bunch of poses that you think suits her, ok? I really need to run..." Ash mumbles quickly. He grabs his stuff as Misty watches him- VERY confused.

That was weird... oh well, he's a boy... 

She glances down at the picture she had just drawn. _It really is nice; he must of thought out her character quite well._

She looks at it more closely, and all of a sudden her eyebrows rise in surprise.

Wait a second, she looks... oddly familiar... 

She looks at every part of the drawing over and over again, blankly staring at every aspect of the girl.

Huh... how strange... 

"Misty!" Misty jolts up from her bed, startled. "Misty, it's time for supper!" Her mom yells.

"Oh... I'll be down in a minute mom!" Misty sets the drawing neatly on her desk, and walks out the door, when she is stopped. The second she looks at the mirror, she gasps, and runs back to the drawing. She then runs back to the mirror, looking at herself, then the drawing.

Oh my god... it's me!!! 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ash is riding in the street next to the park by his house. He looks at the scenery, trying to clear his mind.

_I should have just told her about the book... she's gonna start getting awfully suspicious sooner or later... especially because Mara looks EXACTLY like her..._

"HEY! Ash!"

Ash jumps from his bike seat and nearly falls off. He was about to scream at the person who had yelled at him, but it turned out to be some of his buddies from school. He hops off of his bike and walks over to his group, which was standing next to a large oak tree.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Ash asks casually.

"Nice moves back there Ash." Gary grins, slapping him on the back. Brett does the same.

"Yeap, thought they were some of my best ever!" Ash jokes.

"We haven't seen you around much lately." Brett hints.

"Yeah, you and Misty going out yet?" Gary observed.

Ash turns bright red. _How many times am I going to have to tell everyone that Misty is _not_ my girlfriend!_

"My _friend_ is fine." Ash declares. "We aren't going out, and we never will."

"Then why are you hanging out with her so much then? You sit with her at lunch now instead of sitting with us, and we always see you biking off to _her_ house. You must like her or something." Brett concludes.

Ash rolls his eyes. "We're working on a school project together."

"For three months?"

"Uh, yeah! The English project, remember?" Ash blinks.

"Oh yeah, is she illustrating it?" Gary asks.

"She's an awesome artist! It's amazing- did you see her piece in the school newspaper?" Brett added.

"Yeah, the girl really is amazing." Ash says with a dazed smile.

"So, what's your story about? Knowing you, "Mr. I love English," you probably already have it finished." Gary implies.

"Yeah, it's finished. I just... don't want people seeing it yet, that's all." Ash stammers.

"Has Misty seen it?" Brett taunts.

Ash scratches his head nervously. "No."

Gary and Brett grin like little kids at each other. "It's not about Misty, is it?" Gary questions.

Ash can feel his ears turn red. "No, no, I'm just a little picky about who can see my work. I still have to get a few things fixed in the story..."

"Right, that's what they all say..." Brett teases.

"Anyways guys, I have to head home. I promised my mom I'd be home in time for supper, and I'm already late enough. I'll talk to you guys later." Ash sighs.

"Ok, see ya at school tomorrow!" Brett replies.

"Yeah, bye!" Ash gets onto his bike and heads back home.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty sits on her bed after supper and continues looking at the picture. She had no clue why in the heck Mara looked exactly like herself?

_Is the story about me? No way, why would Ash write a story about?!_ Misty rubs her in head. _This is so weird, Mara looks exactly like me_.

Her eyes shift to the Charmander next to Mara. _Everything except the Pokemon..._

Misty frustratingly puts her head in her pillow.

WHAT IN THE HELL COULD THIS STORY BE ABOUT?! 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ash rides into his driveway, and parks his bike in the garage. He walks into his house.

"Hey mom!" He greets. Delia is sitting at the kitchen table paying bills.

"Hey sweetie, how was your day?" She asks. Ash plops down into a chair next to Delia's.

"Frustrating. You know that story I'm writing for English, right?"

"Yeah, I know the one. You didn't get a bad grade on it did you?" Delia concerns.

"No, it's not due till next month. But, the story is about Misty. I think I should tell her that it is about her, but I'm not sure." Ash complains.

"You wrote the story about _Misty_?" Delia scrunches up her eyebrows. Ash sighs.

"Well, kinda... there are a few differences. The name, the type of Pokemon she uses..."

Delia looks at Ash for a brief moment before bursting out in a wide grin. "You like Misty?"

Ash bangs his head on the table. "NO! Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

Delia chuckles. "Well, you do seem to really like her, I mean, since you've last had a girlfriend you haven't been so nice to a girl."

Ash literally falls off his chair. "Well, I DON'T LIKE HER!" He snaps.

Delia gives him a sympathetic smile. "Sure you don't."

Ash scowls. "So should I show her the story or not?"

"I think you should, before she gets suspicious that you like her." Delia suggests.

_I suppose my mom is right..._"Ok, I'll call her and invite her over first thing in the morning. Anyways, I have to uh, finish some homework." He gets up from his chair. "Call me down when supper is ready." He hurries off into his room.

He stops cold though right when he is about to get in his room.

Do I like Misty? 

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty's cell phone is in her hand. Her hand would dial the digits every few minutes, but then she would chicken out.

_Her mom must think there's a stalker calling every time she picks up the phone and there's just a dial tone..._

She sighs and looks at the phone. _I should just get this over with..._

She dials Ash's number; hopefully this would be the last time. And hopefully she wouldn't hang up again...

"Hello?" A boy's voice answers.

"Is this Ash?" She asks, trying not to think about the knot in her stomach.

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Misty."

There's a long pause of silence on the phone. "Oh, hi. What's up?"

"I think I figured out what the story is about..."

**A/N- Hehe, I gotsa cliffy! Plz review!**

**Oh yeah, thanks to all who reviewed! I've never gotten 40, but you might have noticed... XD**


	8. Hidden Feelings Stay Hidden

**Opposite Passions **

**Part 7: Hidden Feelings Stay Hidden**

**By: Finaille Nailo**

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I could own Pokemon... sadly, I do not... I know, mourn with me people...

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ash's mouth drops open. A million thoughts race through his head. He chews his lip trying to think of what to say.

"Why didn't you say it was about me earlier?" Misty asks innocently.

Another long pause of silence. "I never said the story was about you." Ash finally chokes out.

Misty's voice grows annoyed. "That girl you made me draw looks almost identical to me. And you've been acting so weird and jumpy lately."

"Listen, it's not about _you_... I just happened to make the character look like you ok?" Ash half confesses.

Misty gets very impatient. "Ash, if you don't let me see that book tomorrow, I'm not going to illustrate it, got it?"

_Damn it, I knew she'd eventually find a way to see it... but I _need_ her to illustrate that book. She's so good..._

Ash sweatdrops. "Fine- but I'm not letting you see it just because you blackmailed me." He smirks. _Haha... now I won!_

"That was... really pathetic Ash. I'm going to see it because I blackmailed you... kind of- you obviously don't want me to see it otherwise. Anyways, it's getting late and I'm really tired. Just meet me in the library before school and let me read the story, ok?" Misty sighs.

_She can really bug me sometimes..._ "Fine, I'll see you in the library before school..." 

"Ok, goodnight!"

"Goodnight..." Ash hangs up the phone. He thinks for a brief moment, and goes into his mom's room.

"Hey mom, I think I'm coming down with something..." Ash says, adding a fake cough.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty tips back her chair in the library and glances at the clock- again. _Oooh... Ash better show up! The bell is going to ring in like, two minutes!_

The door to the school library bursts open as Ash rushes in. He is holding a large stack of papers is one hand. He scans the library looking for Misty and spots her near the large window in the back. He walks over to her.

"I thought you weren't going to show up."

Ash smirks. "I might be evil, but I don't break my promises." He extends his hand out with the stack of papers in them. Misty reaches for them, but Ash pulls away.

"I need it back tomorrow... and if you're going to read it, why don't you make some corrections, ok?" Ash suggests.

Misty bops Ash on the head. "You're so weird..." She sighs dramatically. "Anyways, _I_ don't want to be late to class. I'll meet you here again tomorrow morning and give it back..."

Misty picks up her backpack and leaves the room as calmly as possible.

_I can't hold this act much longer... I NEED TO SEE WHAT HE WROTE!!!_

Misty sits very impatiently in her art class, something she usually didn't do. While painting a landscape, every few moments she glanced at the fairly large stack of papers. She worked very quickly to finish the landscape before the bell rang, and luckily, she did. Normally she would have gotten on herself about doing a really sloppy job, but she didn't particularly care. Plus, with her being as good as she is, she knew she was going to get an A. She hands the painting to her teacher, and races back to her desk.

_About time I get to read this..._ She puts the stack of papers in front of her. She only gets to read about five pages due to the bell, but at the end of the fifth page, she knew the main character was a lot like herself already.

_Ha, I knew it!_

During the course of the day, she had read it over twice by the end of her last class. She left her last class with so many thoughts in her head she thought her brain was going to burst.

_This story is one of the best stories I've ever read... and the kid is only 15... But it's about me... and... and..._

The weirdest thought Misty had ever gotten in her life pops in her head right then.

_He likes me..._

Misty gasps. She just stood there, appalled by the thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_WHY DID I LET HER SEE THE STUPID BOOK!_ Ash argues in his head. He slams his head lightly on his work desk.

_Why are you so worried about it in the first place? There's nothing to worry about..._ A different voice says in his head.

_She's going to think that I like her..._

He looks impatiently out the window.

"Well, do I?" He mutters.

"Well do you what?" Delia interrupts him, scaring Ash out of his mind. He jumps about five feet in the air, and crashes on the floor. Delia chuckles at him. "You seem a little jumpy today, but that's just my opinion. Everything ok?"

"I let Misty see the book I've been working on for English." Ash confesses. Delia scrunches up her eyebrows.

"Yeah... so?"

"The book is about her..."

"Oh yeah, I remember. She might not have realized it you know."

"Nope, already did, because I was acting all jumpy and twitchy..." Ash scratches his head.

"Why did you write the book about her?"

Ash pauses. _Yeah, good question. _"Uhh... she seemed like a good person to write about." Ash lies quickly.

"Ash, you like her, don't you."

"I told you yesterday I didn't."

"Sure you don't... Ash, I'm a girl, and I'm not stupid. You like her." Delia smiles, mostly amused.

Ash groans... _She's going to go overboard now..._

"Awwwwww... that's so sweet Ash...." Ash rolls his eyes, and gets up to push his mom out of the room.

"Good night..." He says in a sing-song voice, slamming the door once she had left. Ash turns around, and sits down leaning on the door. He continues to just stare out the window again, watching the sunset. _Oh god, I think my mom is right..._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty spent that night rereading it more and more, looking for possible evidence to the strange idea. She could barely sleep that night for she was thinking of how in the heck she could possibly even imagine Ash liking her.

_This is all just a really screwed up dream, I know it must me..._ She whispers to herself. She climbs on her bed, taking the stack of papers on it. She also grabs her phone, and quickly dials Sam's number. It rings twice, and a voice answers.

"Hello, this is Misty. Is Sam home?" She asks patiently. She hears a giggle over the line.

"This is Sam... wow you sounded creepily formal." She replies. Misty sighs.

"Can you come over? I need to show you something important..."

"What is it?" Sam asks.

Misty's voice lowers. "You never know who could be listening to our conversation." She states, somewhat sarcastically.

Sam laughs again. "You're so paranoid... I'll be over in five minutes." Misty hangs up the phone, and minutes later, Sam is also in her room.

"So, what did you want to show me?" Sam asks, deathly curious. Misty grins.

"I have the story that Ash has been writing."

Sam blinks, partially confused. "He's been writing again? What?"

"Oh yeah, you really don't know what's going on... do you?" Misty fills Sam in about the book Ash had been working on for English, and how she was supposed to illustrate. Sam looks almost pale when she finishes the story. It freaks Misty out when Sam doesn't say a word. Misty shakes her shoulders.

"Sam! You're scaring me!" Misty shouts. Sam grins and points to the stack of papers on Misty's bed.

"Is that the story?" She asks. Misty nods. "Can I read it?"

Misty gets up and grabs the stack. "Ash will probably kill me for this, but sure, why not?"

"I'm not going to tell Ash I read this you know."

"I figured that. I just have issues with keeping _my _mouth shut." Sam rolls her eyes at Misty and starts to read the story. Misty sits next to her acting very fidgety. Misty was so freaked out she was startled when Sam started laughing hysterically.

"What? What is it?" Misty asks, looking around the room confusedly.

"I told you that Ash liked you like when you first came to Goldenrod! This is solid proof!"

"Where do you get the idea that he likes me from that book?"

"Duh! HE WROTE IT ABOUT _YOU_! That's proof enough." Sam laughs again. "That is so incredibly sweet. Even I'm jealous... no guy has ever done that sort of thing for me."

"Are you sure?"

"YES!" Sam pauses from her moment and looks at Misty seriously. "Do you like him?"

Misty shrugs. "I don't think so. I've only known him for a month."

"What would you say if he asked you out?"

"Uhhh..." _Why is she asking me these things now?_

"Well, you still have plenty of times to figure out what your feeling.. wow, I can't believe he really likes you..." Sam sighs. "I'm so jealous."

Misty raises an eyebrow and grins. "What, you still like him?"

Sam shakes her head dramatically. "No..."

"Right!" Misty throws a pillow at her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_He's late again..._ Misty thinks to herself, staring at the clock in the school library. Moments later Ash is right by her side. She has the book in her hand.

"It's really good." She says in a monotone voice, handing the book to Ash. He smiles.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, you did a good job with "Mara."" She says with a wink. Ash blushes. He looks at Misty.

"Misty... I..." Ash starts, but gets interrupted.

"It's really sweet. I've never had a guy care about me so much before." She smiles. "But to be honest, I've never dated a guy."

"Uh... uh??? Wha???" Ash babbles.

"Thanks, and I'll have illustrations for you soon, ok?" She stands up. "Oh, and Ash?"

Ash just blinks.

"This conversation never happened." She walks out of the library, leaving Ash just to be a drooling idiot.

_Women..._

**A/N- Hehe... interesting huh? Well, I told you there is MORE! AND THERE IS!!! Stay tuned!!!!**


	9. Brock the Rock

**Opposite Passions**

**Part 8: "Brock the Rock"**

**By Finaille Nailo**

**A/N- Just wanted to give a quick thank you to those who have reviewed my stories so far! I'm not doing all the reviews, but for the more recent reviews, check to see if I reply! Thank you so much!**

**I also want to thank my boyfriend Matt for giving me the idea for this chapter . Applause for him!!!**

**_ash and misty4life- _**Hey!!! I'm really busy!!! As much as I'd love to update, sometimes I just do not have the time! I'm working as hard as I can, so be grateful when I get some chapters up! But thank you for all the reviews I have gotten!

**_MoonTearGirl- _**I'm glad you find this story funny XD It _is_ a humor fic!

**_Skipper- _**Awww... thank you! I'm so brilliant, aren't I?

**_SullyMike23-_** Well, I hope you understand women better than he does...

**_INVU4URAQT-_** Well, I intended on Misty being sly... thanks though XD!

**_KnucklestheHotEchidna-_** I'm glad you liked it James XD... just no more snowballs! PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!!!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Nearly six months ago I moved to Goldenrod City. I was devastated because Cerulean City had been my home all my life. I never thought I'd make a single friend as fast as I did. Although this friend has put me through hell for the last six months of my life, I'm glad he's around. We've become the best of friends._

_Today we are starting our sophomore year of high school. I'm so excited! Considering this school is a training academy, I once again thought I'd be miserable. I'm more in the arts than anything, but I've found a good mix of training and art here. _

_The rest of my freshman went pretty well. Ash handed in the book he wrote for his creative writing assignment. With my artistic skills and his writing skills, we blew the teacher away! She actually sent the book into a publisher! We still haven't heard back... but we are hoping..._

"Misty! Are you ready yet! We're going to be late!" Misty hears Ash's voice yell through her closed door. She glances at the clock. _Oh crap, we're going to be late_! She grabs her bag and dashes to the door. "Come on, we're going to be late!" She yells to Ash.

"Duh, I've been standing at your door for ten minutes! Were you asleep?" Ash breathily asks as we run to the bus stop.

"No... just thinking." She replies

"Oh. I'm so excited! We're finally tenth graders!" Ash cries.

"I know! So, did you have fun visiting Pallet Town?" Misty asks. _Ash had just spent an entire week visiting his friend Professor Oak. Ash use to live by him until he was twelve, so they have always had a close bond._ _It was so weird not having him around..._

"Yeah! It was great! I got my buddy Pikachu back!" Ash exclaims happily.

I blink at him, hoping he wasn't serious. "You have a _Pikachu_?" Misty asks. He nods.

"It was my first Pokemon. Professor Oak gave him to me when I was ten years old. I traveled Kanto for about a year, then Johto after that. When I was about finished with the Johto league, mom called and said we were moving to Goldenrod and to meet her there."

"Wait, did you collect gym badges?"

"Yeah, I did."

Misty gasps. "Then you must have been to the Cerulean Gym before, if you've traveled Kanto!"

Ash thinks for a brief moment. "Yeah, I battled three girls there... they were pretty easy." He gets a little uncomfortable when Misty glares at him. "Oh, yeah, you're from the Cerulean gym, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"That means we must have met more than once, most likely. I came to a few of the shows at the gym too." They arrive at the bus stop and continue talking in the midst of the crowd. "Were you in any of them?"

"One. A reproduction of the "Little Mermaid." It was the only show I've been in, but I starred in it. The costume was too small to fit my sisters..."

"I went to that when I was eleven."

"Sounds right, I played it right around the time I turned twelve."

"When is your birthday?" Misty asks. Ash blinks. "It's in two weeks, on September 13."

"Then shouldn't you be in the grade below?"

"No, my mom knew I was ready. When's your birthday?"

"You were gone for it."

"When _was _it?"

"Oh, August 27."

"And you didn't tell me?" Ash demands.

"Uh... I didn't really think about it. Kinda snuck up on me this year." Misty blushes.

"You mean, you actually forget about your birthday? I mean it's such a big deal... in my family everybody knows everybody's birthday." Ash explains.

"Well, it's not that way in my family. A cake, a few presents, that's about it..."

"I should throw you a party!" Ash announces.

"Um... how about not..." Misty mumbles. "Really, it's not that big of a deal. The only holiday my family really celebrates is Christmas..."

"Well, I'm going to get you something then." The bus finally gets to the bus stop and they board on. Misty finds Sam, who had moved to a different apartment over the summer.

"Hey Ash, I'm going to sit with Sam, I haven't seen her all summer." Misty tells him. Ash sits down next to Gary and his friends, while Misty walks to the back of the bus and sits next to Sam.

"Hey!" Sam greets, giving Misty a hug. "Wow, I can't believe summer's already over..."

"Yeah, I know! Did you have fun in Olivine?" Misty asks.

"It was great... the ocean was so beautiful. I missed being here though, I'm not used to going on those kinds of vacations. I missed seeing you and the group." Sam sighs. "But, now I'm back, and we're starting our sophomore year of high school!"

"Yeah, hard to believe now, isn't it?"

"Freshman year went so fast."

"Once I got to Goldenrod it went faster..." Misty smirks. "Here I actually have a lot of friends."

"You didn't at your old school?"

"No, not as many. At my old school, everyone had an art talent. Everyone was literally the same."

"Well, everybody does have a talent."

"Well there, a whole bunch of people had the same talent as I did. Here it's more mixed. Some people are good with battling, others are good at schoolwork, and I'm good at art... It's just better here." Misty explains.

Sam thinks for a moment, and then nods her head in agreement. Then she gets a mischievous smile. "So, anything happen with Ash while I was away?"

Misty blinks. "No! Nothing happened..."

"From the way you just said that, I'd guess..." Misty covers Sam's mouth.

"I just told you, nothing happened..."

Sam rolls her eyes. "Sure Misty, I totally believe you." Misty punches Sam in the arm.

"We're at school... come on, let's get off the bus. I wanna see what my schedule is anyways."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Misty! Misty!" Ash yells, trying to move through a crowd of students. _I'm glad her hair's the color it is..._ She notices moments later, and pulls out of the crowd. Ash attempts and succeeds by also pulling out.

"Sheesh, it's like being caught in a strong wave..." Misty grins. "So, what classes did you get?"

He hands her his schedule. "Uh, I have English first hour, then Battle Technique, Computer Ed, Health, Lunch, Breeder Training, Pre-Calc, and Biology."

"Sweet! I have English, Health, Lunch, and Breeder Training with you!" Misty exclaims.

"Wow, a lot of classes... what else are you taking?"

"Painting, Choir, Algebra, and Physics."

"Oh God, I hated Physics..." Ash groans. "Good luck."

Misty snorts. "Actually, I like most sciences. I really liked chemistry last year. Come on, let's find out where our English class is..."

They both chat until they find the English classroom. A seating arrangement was at the front of the room, and Ash and Misty both find their seats.

"Hey, we sit right by each other!" Ash grins. "English is going to be fun!"

"Because you're good at it, or that you're sitting by me?"

"Both!" They sit at their desks. They talk about their summers more, when a tall boy sits to the right of Misty. He taps her on the shoulder.

"Hey, this is English Writing Workshop, isn't it?" He asks. Misty turns around to look at him. He blinks at her, and automatically blushes. Ash notices and scowls under his breath.

"Yeah, this is English Workshop." Misty replies.

"I'm new here, my name is Brock Stone. I'm a junior." He says quietly, extending his hand. Misty takes it.

"I'm Misty Yawa. I'm a sophomore. Welcome to Goldenrod!" She smiles sweetly at him. He blushes more.

"A pretty name for a pretty girl." Brock says in a voice so quiet that she could only hear him. Misty's face turns the same shade of red as Brocks. She mumbles a quick "thanks," then quickly turns to the front. Ash looks at her funny.

"Misty, are you ok?"

She nods really quickly and tries to say something, but the teacher comes in the classroom and the bell rings.

"I'll tell you later..." She whispers to Ash, as the teacher writes his name on the blackboard...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Ugh... Brock is like in all of my classes...it's soooo creepy!_ Misty shudders at the thought. She waits for Ash outside of the health room. _I cannot believe Ash actually got in trouble with a teacher of the first day of school..._

Moments later Ash walks out of the classroom. Misty grins evilly at him. "Nice job, Ash."

"Well, she's a total bitch anyways. God, I was just looking at my Pokedex, and she gives me three days of detention." Ash groans. "My mom is going to be so pissed off at me."

"Well, you _shouldn't_ have been looking at your Pokedex in the first place, leave that for your Pokemon classes." Misty sarcastically scolds.

"Yeah, but you ended up getting placed by that Brock kid again. Ouch..."

"Yeah, he's been in all of my classes! With my luck, he'll have our lunch hour." Misty sighs.

"Well, speaking of lunch, I'm STARVING!!! Let's go to the cafeteria..." Ash grins.

"You're going to get fat someday."

Ash sticks his tongue out. "Well, not while I still have a fast metabolism."

"Wow, you used a big word..."

Ash punches her lightly in the arm. "Not funny."

"Hey, Misty!" A voice yells out. Misty freezes.

"Who is it?" Misty whispers. Ash turns around.

"Guess who?" Ash joked.

"Brock." Misty fumed. She turns around with a plastic smile on her face. "Hey Brock!" He walks faster and catches up with the two.

"Hey beautiful! What class do you have next?" Brock says.

Misty bites her lip. "Lunch." She mutters.

"Awesome! So do I! Mind if I sit with you and your boyfriend?"

Misty tenses up. "Ash is not my boyfriend. Oh yeah, this is my _friend_ Ash. Ash, this is Brock..."

"Yeah, I saw you in English." Brock says. "Nice one in Health by the way."

Ash grins. "Well, the teacher is a cow anyways."

"Did you get in trouble?"

"A few days of detention, no big deal..."

Misty is wide-eyed. _Two seconds and they're already buddies..._

Brock turns his attention back to Misty. "Are you dating someone?" Misty nearly falls over in surprise.

"No, I'm not."

"We should do something on Friday night." He suggests.

"She can't!" Ash blurts.

"Huh?" Misty and Brock say in unison.

"She can't, she's coming over to my house... to work on something." Ash struggles.

"I am?" Ash glares at her. "Oh yeah... I am..." She turns to Brock. "Uh, sorry?"

"No, that's ok. I'll get to your heart somehow." He winks at her. "I'll find you in a few moments though. I need to run to the office quickly." He waves to both of them and goes in another direction. The moment he was entirely gone, Misty turns to Ash with a very interesting look on her face.

"What the heck was that about?"

"Nothing..." Ash lies.

"Were you actually... jealous of him?"

"Uhhh...."

"You were, weren't you?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Well thanks for making that thing up though. He's nice, but don't worry, I don't like him."

Ash just looks around awkwardly. "Maybe we should go eat now..."

Misty smiles sweetly at him, and Ash turns bright red. "Good idea!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**A/N- Hope you liked! Please review!!!**


	10. More than a surprise!

**Opposite Passions**

**Chapter 9: More than a Surprise**

**By Finaille Nailo**

**A/N- I'm sorry this took so long! **

**Thanks to all who reviewed! You guys are really great!**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

_Friday, September 12. What a day, and it's only 7:40am… Well, school has started. It's ok so far. I like most of my teachers, I have a few classes with Misty, and I've made a new friend. I also have one cow of a health teacher._

Ash runs breathily into an entrance to the Villa Square Apartment Complex. _And guess what? I was supposed to be at Misty's house to walk her to the bus ten minutes ago. If she's already ready, maybe we won't miss the bus like we did two days ago… my mom got pretty pissed off…_

He runs towards the apartment building in the middle left of the nine apartments. He runs inside and jolts up the stairs._ The one thing that I'm only looking forward to is…_

He knocks on Misty's door.

…_My birthday. _

Ash grins sheepishly as Misty's mom opens the door.

"Morning Mrs. Yawa! Is Misty ready?"

"Yes, she is. I was just about to run her to school, since I was afraid she'd be late like she was two days ago…"

Ash turns crimson. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

Mrs. Yawa just smiles and pats Ash on the head. "You're like family, you know I'm not mad or anything. Hang on a second." She goes back in. "Misty, get down here! Ash is here!" She turns back to Ash. "I'll just drop you two off at school, since I have to be at work early."

Ash bows embarrassedly. "Thank you ma'am."

Moments later Misty is downstairs and Mrs. Yawa is ushering them into her car. Misty and Ash both climb into the backseat, and the car pulls out of the complex.

"You better be glad she had to be at work early, Ash…" Misty smirks.

"Hey, I can't help it if my alarm clock can't wake me up." Ash whines.

"Uh, yeah you can. It's called, GET A NEW ONE!"

Ash cowers behind his backpack. "Sorry…"

"What's with the sudden burst of sarcasm?"

"Dunno."

They both look at each other and laugh hysterically.

"So, what are you doing after school?"

"Detention with the cow. She always finds a way to get me in trouble…"

"Well, don't sleep, doodle, or play with your Pokedex during class, and you won't get detention, Ash…"

"Everyone else does all of that… why do I have to be the one who gets in trouble?"

"Because you snore, you make funny sounds when you draw, and you don't know how to control your volume on your Pokedex."

Ash blinks. "At least I have my surprise birthday party to look forward to."

Misty cocks an eyebrow. "If it's a surprise, why do you know about it?"

"It's just a tradition. Every year since I can remember, I've always had a surprise party. It's just not that big of a deal anymore, seriously."

"Oh gee, I'd love to know that my sixteenth birthday party is a "surprise" too, but doesn't that take all the fun out of it?"

Ash just shrugs as the car comes to a stop in front of their high school. They grab their backpacks and wave goodbye to Mrs. Yawa. After getting out of the car they resume their conversation.

"So, are you helping my mom this year then?"

Misty looks confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, every year since I was about 12 she's coaxed my good friends to help out with it." Ash grins from Misty's expression.

"She hasn't said a word to me." Misty looks off to the side, trying to think to herself.

Ash notices her sudden side-glance. "Sure she hasn't…"

Misty rolls her eyes. _Maybe she hasn't, but maybe I can fix the surprise this year…_ Misty tugs on Ash's sleeve. "Come on; let's get inside before the bell rings…" She runs off ahead of him as Ash just stands there dumbfounded.

"Girls are weird." He runs off behind her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Thank God Ash has detention today… I'm going to have to come up with a good excuse for why I didn't wait for him like usual though…_

She gets off of the bus a few houses away from Ash's. _Sure, I might not get a birthday party like Ash always does, but this year is his special birthday. Maybe Delia will like some of my ideas for his party…_

She walks up to the Ketchum house and rings the doorbell. Almost immediately, Delia answers.

"Why, hello Misty! What brings you here? Come, step in." Delia smiles happily.

"Well, I figured I should catch you while Ash isn't around. He told me that you always throw him a surprise birthday party." Misty tells her.

"Yes, I do."

"Would you call it a surprise if he already knows about it?" Misty asks.

Delia blushes somewhat. "No, I guess not. Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I think I have an idea for his birthday party this year…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_It seems awfully bright this morning…_ Ash rolls over on his bed to glance at his alarm clock. He squints from the sun shining in his eyes.

_Joy, it's only 8:00am… wait, it's ONLY 8… something isn't right about that… at least today it is…_

Ash yawns and rolls out of bed. _My mom should have been here at least an hour ago with breakfast…_

After Ash puts on his clothes he drags himself down to the kitchen to find his mom about ready to head out of the garage door.

"Where are you going, Mom?" He asks, extremely confused.

She smiles at him, and goes up to him. She kisses his forehead. "Happy birthday, Ash! I'm so sorry, an important meeting came up today and I told them I'd show up. It's probably going to last all day! I'm sorry we can't do anything for your birthday, maybe we can go out to eat tomorrow night. But sweetie, I really need to run."

Ash gets a crushed look on his face. "Oh. Alright…"

"Maybe you should call one of your friends."

_Hey that's not a bad idea! Maybe Misty would want to hang out!_ "Alright. Have fun at your meeting!"

"I'll try to be home as soon as I can. Don't forget to put on clean underwear!" She kisses the top of his head and runs out the door.

He rolls his eyes. _Maybe one of these days she'll actually treat me like a 16 year old._ He grabs the phone and jumps on the couch. He quickly dials Misty's number.

He hears a dial tone, then a voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey, this is Ash!"

"Oh, hey Ash! Happy birthday!"

"Thanks Misty! So watcha up to today?"

"Not much, so, when's your surprise birthday party? I haven't heard a thing about it." Misty tries not to laugh while she says this.

"Oh… yeah… turns out mom had a meeting… so I guess there isn't one."

"Oh, too bad."

"Want to hang out?"

Misty grins. "Well, I have to go visit my aunt up at Indigo Plateau. Sorry."

"So you wouldn't have been able to make it anyways?"

"Umm… nope. But Ash, I really need to get going. Have a fun birthday!"

"Yeah… I will… bye."

"Bye!"

He hangs up the phone, with a crushed look placed back on his face. _Huh… that is really weird. Oh well, I'm sure somebody else would want to hang out…_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

An hour later, Ash is calling the last person he knows.

"You can't hang out either?" Ash asks, completely dumbfounded. Andrew was the 37th person he had called. The others had something going on today too.

"Yeah, my mom and I are picking up my sister from college. Normally I wouldn't go, but mom thinks I need the driving practice. Sorry."

"Oh, ok. See you on Monday, Andrew."

"Yeah, bye Ash!"

He hangs up the phone for the last time. _Wow… I called all my friends… and all of them are busy! What a birthday!_

He eats breakfast, then goes upstairs to brush his teeth quick. He's about to lie on his bed to watch some TV when the doorbell rings.

_Huh, wonder who that could be?_ He goes to the door and opens it.

Two people dressed completely in black and wearing sunglasses are standing right in front of him.

"We have come for you, Ash Ketchum." The one on the right says.

The person on the left grabs him by the arm, and the other one shuts the house door. For a split second, Ash is completely confused, but all of a sudden he screams,

"HELP! SOMEBODY IS KIDNAPP…" His mouth is covered by a hand and something is covered over his eyes.

"Shut up or we'll revert to torture, Ketchum." One of the people says sharply.

_Oh great, it's my 16th birthday, and today someone finally tries to kidnap me because I'm this hotshot trainer. Oh boy…_

Ash is thrown into the car by the two people, then they slam his car door shut. Before they enter, they smile, and take off their black hats and sunglasses.

"Ready Misty?" Sam asks.

"Yeap, phase one complete." Misty pulls out a walkie talkie. "Underwear freak, this is Little Mermaid. We'll be at Indigo in about an hour!"

"Little Mermaid, hear you loud and clear! Everybody's setting up, be careful driving you two!"

"All right, Little Mermaid out!" Misty stuffs the walkie talkie back onto her belt as Sam gets behind the wheel. Misty sits in back to keep an eye on Ash. Misty tries not to laugh as Ash squirms for majority of the car ride, but finally quits after about a half hour. In her best low voice, Misty tries to freak Ash out even more.

"Scared yet kid? There's a lot more coming to you… just you wait and see." She laughs manically.

And because of evil comments Misty gives him, Ash just shivers nervously the rest of the ride.

_I hope they don't kill me… I want to tell my mom I love her, and my friends… and Misty… hell, what would I tell her?_

Underneath the bandana, Misty notices a small teardrop fall down his cheek. She starts to feel a little sympathetic.

_Poor thing, he really must think this is real…_

Luckily, the car finally passes the 'Welcome to Indigo Plateau' sign.

_Not much longer…_ Misty thinks to herself. At last the car pulls into the Indigo Plateau amusement park. Sam parks the car as close as she can to the entrance. Ash can feel the car stop.

"Where are we?" Ash asks.

Misty hits him lightly over his head. "I told you to shut up, Ketchum!"

Misty pulls him out of the car; excited screams from the children are heard…

Well… Ash didn't quite get that they are… 'excited' screams. He grows rigid.

"Come on!" Misty grunts, having to push him with all of her might to get him into the park. Sam takes care of the tickets, and they drag him into a large room. Sam shuts the door, and Misty takes off Ash's bandana. But the room was dark; Ash still could not see a thing.

_Holy crap! They are really going to kill me!_

"Take this, Ketchum!" Misty yells at the top of her lungs, and lights pop on. Ash screams as a whole room full of people yell,

"SURPRISE!"

Cheers of happy birthday are said all around. Ash looks around to see all 37 people he had called, and his mom, standing in a room full of balloons and streamers. He just stands there shocked.

Misty throws her arm around him. "You ok there, Ashy-boy?"

His eye twitches once. "I think I damn near wet myself…"

"You didn't, right?"

"No."

"Well," Sam pipes in. "Don't just stand there! It's your party!"

The day is spent eating junk food, playing games, and riding rides. Everybody at the party has a terrific time. Ash quickly gets over the shock of being 'kidnapped,' luckily. At the end of the day, all the kids are underneath the stars, waiting for the lights and fireworks show.

Misty spots Ash, sitting all alone and smiling to himself. She plops herself down right next to him.

"So, did you have a fun birthday this year?" She asks.

"Yeah… it was one hell of a surprise." Ash says breathily. Misty gives him a sly smile. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe…" She winks.

Ash takes her hand, and kisses her cheek. "Thanks Misty… as much as that act scared the shit out of me… no one has ever done anything that nice for me."

Misty smiles, nods, and quickly turns her head away from Ash. _Thank god it is nighttime… I don't want him to see me blushing so badly…_

"You ok Misty?" Ash asks.

She turns her head back to him quickly. "Yeah, I'm great! And… thanks…"

Ash looks dumbfounded. "For what?"

Misty stammers with her words for a moment. "For… being such a good friend." Ash squeezes her hand, and doesn't let go until the fireworks end.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**A/N- I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRY THIS TOOK ME FOREVER TO UPDATE! I promise I will get another few chapters up this summer!**


	11. Will you be my girl?

**Opposite Passions**

**Chapter 10: Will you be my girl?**

**By Finaille Nailo**

**A/N- GASP I'm actually starting another chapter two days after I finished one. Sorry I have just been so busy… but I will now shut up and let you read on…**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

_Friday, October 10_

_Dear Journal,_

_Wow this year has been so amazing. I never thought high school could be this fun! I finally started working on my project for this years art scholarship… since I missed the deadline last year I'll have plenty of time to make a perfect piece. I wish Ash would model for me though… he hates pictures yet he is so photogenic. It's irritating. Oh well._

_School is tough this year. At least I'm getting mainly A's… except in Physics where I'm bearing pulling a B. Funny, I enjoyed Chemistry so much. Ash told me they did AP Chemistry at school here so I plan on signing up next year._

_Sam is doing well too! Well… except for the bad thing that has happened. Well, a week after Ash's birthday party, her mom got in a terrible car accident! She is paralyzed from the waist down, and now she and her parents have to move to Violet City so her aunt and uncle can take care of her. We had a 'going away' party last Saturday._

_Anyways, before I go, school dance is in two weeks! I'm so excited! I don't know if I'm going to go with anyone… hopefully I can get a date… I need to run!_

_Misty_

Misty sets her journal on her desk and grabs her backpack off the chair. _Ash is going to be coming by any second now. _She yawns. _I had a terrible time sleeping last night. I had so much on my mind…_

"Misty! Ash is here!" She hears her mother yell down the hallway. _Hope I don't fall asleep in class…_ She walks down the hallway.

"Hey Ash!" Misty says as cheerfully as she can.

"Hey! Ready to go?"

"Yeah. I've been ready for a while. Actually had enough time to write in my journal this morning." Misty says- almost sarcastically.

"Wow, when did you get up?"

"I've been up since… around four this morning? Yeesh… I couldn't sleep at all last night. I had… a bit on my mind…"

She looks up at Ash- who has a concerned look on his face- and blushes. "Anything you'd want to talk about?"

Misty looked down at her shoes. "No, not really. Probably just stress. Anyways, let's go, I need to walk… maybe it'll get some energy in me."

_She is acting pretty strange this morning… that's unusual… and I'm actually being serious, too._ Ash thinks as Misty walks out of her front door. He follows her out. Misty stays pretty quiet most of the walk to the bus stop. Ash decides to make conversation… before the walk got any more awkward.

"So, the school dance is in two weeks." Ash acknowledges.

"Yeah, it is." Misty mumbles.

"Are you going with anybody?"

"No. I'm not even sure if I'm going. I have never been able to get a date for a dance. I tried going with friends one year, but I really couldn't do that either. I guess I'm just meant to go with one… guy…" She glances at him. "What about you?" _Maybe since he likes me… he'll ask me out to the dance…_

Ash looks up to the sky for a moment. _I'd love to ask Misty… but she still doesn't have any feelings for me… she could say no… _"I don't know, I might ask that new Sakura girl you've been hanging out with. She seems pretty nice. Where was she from again?"

"Ecruteak… well, a bit west of it." Misty adds. _He's going to ask her? And… why not me? _"She is a pretty amazing battler… I've watched her outside on the battle grounds after school, waiting for _you_ to get out of detention."

"Yeah, she's in my technique class. She's amazing… and so pretty!" Ash sighs. _And she's not even showing a single sign of jealousy. Ouch!_

_Is he just TRYING to get at me or what?_ "You should ask her to the dance."

_She CANNOT be serious…_ "I think I will. But please, come to the dance! It would be so fun to hang out with you there."

"I'll think about it." About ten feet from the bus stop, she spots her friend from choir. "Hey, it's Arisa! I need to go talk to her about some music. I'll see you in English, Ash!" Misty runs off to her friend.

_I wish Misty would have argued when I told her I was going to ask Sakura. I thought most girls did that! Uhh… girls are irritating…_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next Wednesday Ash has a rose in hand, making sure he gets to Battle Technique early.

"Hey Gary! Have to go… talk to a teacher!"

"Hey Brett, can't talk, have important stuff to get done!"

"Brockster! I'm going to be late, sorry!"

_God! Does everyone want to prevent me from asking Sakura?_ Finally he gets out to the battle grounds, and sits on a bench. He takes a deep breath. _I don't even have a crush on her, yet I feel so nervous…_ Two minutes later, he spots Sakura walking in alone. He knew she hadn't made many friends other than Misty. He hides the rose behind his back.

"Sakura!" He calls out. Her head jolts up when she hears her name. She looks at Ash and jogs over to him.

"Hey… Ash! What's up?" Sakura asks, while taking her long hair out of a ponytail.

_Wow… she is pretty… haven't really paid too much attention…_ "Hey, I have something to ask you. Want to sit?"

Sakura plops down on the bench with a confused look on her face. Ash's heart skips a beat as he feels her weight press on the rickety bench. "Sure, what's up?"

Ash takes a deep breath, and pulls out the rose from behind him. "Sakura, would you want to go to the school dance with me?"

Her mouth drops open, her eyes widen, and… "YES ASH! I WOULD LOVE TO GO TO THE DANCE WITH YOU!"

Ash goes rigid due to shock from her excitement. "That's… good…"

"So… does this mean you actually want to date me?" She asks with hope sparkling in her eyes.

"Well… I think… I'm pretty sure…" After stammering like crazy for a few moments, he thinks to himself. _I want Misty. Maybe I can get to her through Sakura._ He takes another deep breath. "Yes, Sakura, I want to date you."

"This seems so sudden, but oh wow… I've never had a boyfriend before!"

"You… haven't? But you're so pretty." Ash remarks quickly.

Sakura's entire face turns crimson. "You're so sweet Ash!" She leans in to give him a quick peck on the lips. "Come on, class is going to start!" She runs off to meet with the group of students in the middle of the battle ground. Ash just sits there, bright red, and thinking, _I believe I just made a HUGE mistake…_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_Ahh… another great session of choir. I think we might actually win the Goldenrod Choir Competition next month…_ Misty sighs and glances at the clock in choir. _And we finished early…_

"Yeah, did you hear about Ketchum?" Misty hears two voices behind her.

"Yeah, Ash and Sakura are dating now! Sakura was telling me all about it last hour!"

_Woah, what the hell are they talking about?_ Misty whips around to face the two voices. It was Tammy and Melanie. "Woah, Ash is dating Sakura?"

"Yeah! It just happened last hour too! He went to ask her to the dance, but then he also asked her out as well!" Melanie exclaims.

"Oh… I didn't know about it…" Misty sighs and turns around back in her chair just as the bell rings. She gathers her things. _Great! Now how am I going to face him in Health?_ She walks as slowly as she can to Health, making sure to avoid having to talk to Ash during Health. Unfortunately, she is late, and her teacher gives her detention. She groans, goes to her desk, and puts her head on the table.

She feels a poke on her shoulder. She turns her head to the side to see Ash giving her a goofy smile. "Not today Ash…"

"What's wrong, Misty?" Ash asks.

_I'm not going to say anything… I'm not going to say anything… I'm NOT going to say anything…_ "So, I heard you and Sakura were dating…" _Damn it!_

_So… she heard…_ "Yeah… she is really sweet…"

"So, are you going to find somebody to go to the dance with?" Ash counters.

She gives him the best normal look she can muster up. "I don't think I want to go anymore…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty sighs as she is riding the bus home from school. _The dance is in two days… not a single person has asked me, and Ash has a girlfriend. Could life get any worse? It's already pretty bad enough I have to suffer watching Ash and Sakura making out in the hallways at school. I've barely even talked to him this last week._

Another voice pops in her head. _You don't even like Ash, but you care so much. Are you sure about your feelings, Mist?_

_Yes… I'm completely sure! I do not have any feelings for Ash Ketchum!_

She sits there for a moment, and rests her head on the back of the seat in front of her. _At least, I didn't too long ago…_

"Hey, you're Misty, right?" A voice startles her. She looks up to see a fairly tall boy with dark hair sit on the bus seat right next to her.

"Yeah, I'm Misty. And you… are in my Algebra class, right?"

"Yeah, and choir and physics. I'm Rudy." He extends his hand.

"Nice to meet you." She mumbles politely.

"Listen, I know you don't know me or anything, but I think you are very pretty… and I was wondering if you had a date for the dance." Rudy asks.

"Uhh… no I don't have a date for the dance. Why?" Misty wonders.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me. My mom's going to let me use her car, I already have the tickets. All I need is an answer." Rudy explains.

_Well, maybe going to the dance would be fun. Maybe Ash would get a little jealous himself…_ "You know what Rudy? I'd love to go to the dance with you!" They exchange phone numbers and Misty gives him her address. They decide he will pick her up at eight on Saturday night. They just talk until the bus stops at Misty's stop.

Before she walks down the aisle to get out, Rudy grabs her hand. "Thanks for saying you'll go with me." He stands up to kiss her cheek. "It's not every day a pretty girl like you accepts an invitation from somebody like me."

Misty leaves the bus blushing. _Well, I suppose now I have to go out and find a dress…_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ash stands outside of Sakura's house, with her corsage in hand. _Man, the dance really came by fast… It's going to be a lot of fun… I wonder if Misty is going to go though. She hasn't even said a word to me these past few days._

Sakura opens the door, in a beautiful yellow dress. Her purple hair is pulled up into a fancy bun. "Hiya, sweetie! Come on in!"

He walks in her house, and holds up the corsage. Her parents take pictures as he puts the corsage on her wrist. It is a simple corsage, two yellow roses with some tiny yellow flowers. They take more pictures, and then they walk outside hand-in-hand.

"This is going to be such a fun dance!" Sakura exclaims happily. Ash nods.

"Yeah, fun." _I really hope Misty is there…_ They gather into the back seat of his mom's car and his mom drive's them to the dance. When she drops Ash and Sakura off, Delia pulls Ash aside.

"Call me when the dance is over." Ash nods, takes Sakura's arm, and they walk into the dance. There were probably about 100 other students there, but it was still pretty early. Ash looks around to see if Misty is there.

"What are you looking for, sweetie?" Sakura asks, gripping his hand tighter.

"Nothing, Sakura." He smiles at her, and kisses her nose. "Shall we dance?"

They go out into the dance floor and start dancing to a Christina Aguilera song…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Misty and Rudy are walking towards the front door of the school from the parking lot. Misty is a little worried; Rudy had some car trouble on the way there, but luckily they were able to fix it pretty quickly. Misty is more nervous however. As they walk in the front door, she takes a deep breath.

"You ok, baby?" Rudy asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I can tell you're pretty nervous. Anything I can do to make you feel better?" Rudy sympathizes.

"No, but thank you for asking." Misty sighs.

"I know it has something to do with Ash, right?" Rudy asks right out of the blue. She gapes at him.

"No… well… how did you know?" Misty asks.

"Well, you've been staring at him in the hallways a lot, you twitch every time Sakura comes by, and I can just tell by the look in your eyes. Misty, you're cute, and I wish you'd like me, but you have to tell Ash how you feel." Rudy suggests.

Misty nearly falls over, but after thinking over his words, she sighs. "Yeah, you're right, aren't you?"

"You're beautiful tonight." Misty is wearing a turquoise halter dress that matches perfectly with her eyes. It slinks against her body so it shows off her great curves, something Misty normally hides from the world. "Go find him."

Misty walks onto the dance floor. _I'm not even sure if Ash is here yet…_ But moments later, she sees him kissing Sakura. She somewhat chuckles as she twitches at the sight. But she can tell from ten feet away Ash did not look too happy.

Ash pulls back from the kiss, and looks at Sakura. He had had something on his mind the entire night. _Misty…_ He gave Sakura a serious look. "Sakura… I can't be with you." He blurts out immediately. "I love somebody else." His gut instinct told him to look straight to his right, and he finds Misty, staring straight at him as another song starts to play throughout the room.

_Hey, hey baby_

_I wanna know_

_If you'll be my girl_

_When I saw you walking_

_Down the street_

_I said that's the kind of_

_Girl I'd like to meet_

_She's so pretty_

_Lord, she's fine_

_I'm gonna make her mine all mine_

_Hey, hey baby_

_I wanna know _

_If you'll be my girl_

_When you turned and_

_Walked away_

_That's when I want to say_

_Come on baby give me a whirl_

_I wanna know if you'll be my girl_

_Hey, hey baby_

_I wanna know_

_If you'll be my girl_

Ash walks up to Misty, staring at her. "God, you're beautiful Mist."

Misty blushes, and for the first time, she lets him see her blush. He puts his hands around her waist; she puts her hands around his neck.

"Misty… I'm so sorry if I hurt you. These last two weeks have been driving me crazy. I wanted to ask you to the dance."

"Why didn't you?"

"You mean, you would have said yes?" Ask teases.

Misty leans in close to his ear. "Yes… it hurt so bad when you told me you wanted to ask Sakura."

"I thought you'd get jealous… and force me to go with you." Ash grins.

"Well, I did get jealous, but there's no way I'd ever force you to go with me." Misty smiles. "Ash… I think I love you."

Ash stops moving to the music at her words. He holds her tight against his body. Then he lets go a bit, so he can look her straight in the eye. "Misty… I think I love you too. Will you be my girl?"

Then he leans in to kiss her.

And she accepts.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**A/N- Woah woah woah people! This story isn't even close to being over yet! We still have another two and a half years of high school! But we finally have some romance thrown in! w00t! Thanks and review ;) **


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